Pakistani exile slain in London

LONDON, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Leaders of Pakistan's Muttahida Qaumi Movement have declared a 10-day mourning period following the killing in London of one the party's founding members.

Imran Farooq, 50, was stabbed to death outside his home, the BBC reported Friday. He was living in London to avoid arrest by Pakistani police on charges he said were politically motivated.

As a precaution, security was heightened in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and many shops were closed, the BBC said.

"It was a great loss to the party and the family," Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said.

The Pakistan People's Party will suspend activities for 10 days, Gilani said.

Scotland Yard is investigating Farooq's death. He was stabbed in the neck and head outside his home Thursday, The Guardian reported.

Farooq is a former Pakistani parliamentarian, and one of the founding members of the MQM, a former opposition party now part of the ruling Pakistan People's Party-led alliance, the newspaper said.

"He was a gentleman, a very, very soft-spoken person with a lot of knowledge, and who was very outspoken as well," said Raza Haroon, a member of the MQM central co-ordination committee in London.

Another member of the MQM was killed last month, and his death triggered violence in Karachi that left 100 people dead, The Guardian said.

Farooq's body will be returned to Pakistan for services.