Pakistani authorities, says Dr Rehiana Ali, have “failed to carry out a proper and thorough investigation” despite her numerous attempts to find the reason behind her brother’s death. She says she won’t give up finding the truth.
“They deliberately and wilfully destroyed all the forensic evidence.”
“Everything I have achieved – Cambridge University, a PhD, a Consultant Neurology post, my sister Yasmin’s legal career – no small feat from our background – was largely due to this brother of mine. We are heartbroken, but the Pakistani authorities need to understand that we will not be giving up.”
ASIAN EXPRESS EXCLUSIVE: Dr Rehiana Ali, sister of a Bradford-born and Imperial College London graduate Farooq Ali, says her brother was murdered at a hotel in Islamabad, but the truth is being covered up by the Pakistani authorities.
Farooq Ali, 44, from Bradford, had been staying at Ramada by Wyndham Hotel in Islamabad for 11-months when he was found dead on 16th March 2022.
Pakistani authorities, says Dr Ali, have “failed to carry out a proper and thorough investigation” despite her numerous attempts to find the reason behind her brother’s death.
Farooq, who was writing a fiction book, was undertaking tennis training at the Pakistan Tennis Federation as he hoped to go on the seniors’ tour. He was staying in the hotel in Islamabad after having moved there in May 2021.
Farooq Ali and his sister, Dr Ali, shared a credit card, but when she noticed no payment to the hotel had been made, she phoned him but her call went unanswered.
She then called the hotel on 16th March to check that he was still there, and was assured by the hotel that he was. However, it transpires the hotel staff had not seen him for five days. She was then called back seven hours later informing her that her brother was dead.
Speaking to Asian Express, Dr Ali said: “No concerns were raised when we spoke to our brother. He was only 44-years-old and completely well and very upbeat. If he had any health concerns, he would have almost certainly shared them with me, as I am a doctor (a Consultant Neurologist). He had no medical conditions at all.”
Dr Ali believes Farooq was murdered on 11th March or the early hours of 12th March, but his body was only discovered on 16th March – five days later.
After his family few out to Pakistan, Farooq Ali’s body was taken to Kashmir and buried on 18th March.
Dr Ali insists she has no doubt that he was murdered. “There were too many inconsistencies in the circumstances surrounding his death, lies from Ramada Hotel, and suspicious activity from hotel staff to come to any other conclusion,” she says.
“My brother Farooq represented the best of our community here in the UK. For him to be taken in this way has devastated us – my parents have lost their son and we have lost the person who made this family whole.
“Everything I have achieved – Cambridge University, a PhD, a Consultant Neurology post, my sister Yasmin’s legal career – no small feat from our background – was largely due to this brother of mine. We are heartbroken, but the Pakistani authorities need to understand that we will not be giving up.”
‘Lies from Pakistan authorities’
Islamabad Police maintain the death was from natural circumstances although they have still not produced an official report now nine-months after the incident. They had originally claimed it was suicide.
The delay in the report, says Dr Ali, is despite an order by Judge Humayun Dilawar on 15th July 2022, and despite a promise by Inspector General of Islamabad Police Akbar Nasir Khan to the family that a report would be provided by the end of July 2022.
The family launched a private complaint against three police officers and hotel staff and management but the lower court judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra, rejected it citing insufficient evidence and a delay in submission of the First Information Report (FIR).
Dr Ali says the judgement was “farcical” and a travesty “ The FIR was actually refused by Islamabad Police although it was my legal right, so I had to obtain one via the Court.
“That FIR was obtained on 11th April 2022,” says Dr Ali. “So why are we being blamed when that delay lies at the door of Islamabad Police? And if the Honourable Humayun Dilawar could order an FIR to be issued, then it is hard to understand Sipra’s judgement,” she questions.
“I have no doubt Sipra has been paid off by Ramada,” she adds. The family’s legal team believe Sipra has erred in his judgement and lodged an appeal in Islamabad High Court in October 2022.
Dr Ali states the police deliberately bungled the investigation into her brother’s death and are still refusing to carry out a proper probe.
She names three police officers in her private complaint who were responsible for the initial crime scene: Investigating Officer Tariq Mehmood, Station House Officer Qurban Ali Anwer and Inspector Akram Nagra.
Dr Ali said: “My lawyer repeatedly tells me that I don’t need to tell Islamabad Police how to do their job. They know very well. In this case, they deliberately and wilfully destroyed all the forensic evidence. These police officers have over 50 years of experience between them. This was very deliberate.”
My brother lay dead for five days in a hotel room
After spending over nine months in Pakistan investigating the case herself, Dr Ali shared the hotel’s CCTV footage with Asian Express. it clearly shows that there was suspicious activity outside Farooq’s hotel room. Around four people at different intervals stand outside and monitor Farooq’s hotel room between 4am and 5am on 12th March.
“For five days, my brother’s body lay dead in VIP room 331. Despite him being at this hotel for ten-months and seen several times a day, no water or food was offered for five days despite it being a 4-Star international hotel.
“Mysteriously, Ramada didn’t even chase its own bill that was owed on 10th March. Farooq paid by the 10th of every month. He had reminders on his phone and previous receipts. Itemised billing proves this. It is not believable that a big business like Ramada lets you stay for free. No hotel lets you stay for free.
“The hotel lied about the electronic ‘Do not Disturb’ sign on the door. Other lies are on statements from hotel staff but Police have never taken any action.”
Dr Ali says: “People say that there is no justice in Pakistan. I now understand why they say that. The system is designed to grind you down and most people give up.
“Pakistani officialdom believes they can ignore us. How long can they continue to cover this up?
“And the British authorities should not be giving license to Islamabad Police to mistreat us. We need our MPs to step up – my MP is Richard Burgon, my parents’ MP is Judith Cummins and my sister’s is Naz Shah. Imran Hussain is another Kashmiri MP for Bradford East.
“We have asked the MPs to publicly support our #JusticeForFarooqAliKhan campaign – which will be on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram. Only Naz Shah to date held a press conference on 4th November 2022.”
“Remarkably, despite the last nine-months and the seriousness of the case, this issue has not raised in the House of Commons to demand cooperation from Pakistani authorities. When the letter writing doesn’t work – and it clearly hasn’t – other avenues have to be tried.
“We want the truth of what happened to Farooq on 11 or 12 March. Those responsible for his murder must be held to account.”
Dr Ali says Islamabad Police were guilty of:
• Failing to conduct a post-mortem on 16th March suggesting an exemption (on the grounds that they had collected all the evidence) and the family had to exhume Farooq’s body in May 2022, an event which has traumatised the family.
• Lies that they had collected blood samples for toxicology – in fact they only sent blood for DNA something that is done when the identity of a person is unknown. No blood was sent for toxicology.
• No DNA was sent of suspects. In fact, the Police were busy eating and drinking in the hotel lounge as seen on CCTV.
• No foam from Farooq’s face was sent for toxicology – although foam can indicate poisoning.
• No fingerprinting of the crime scene was performed.
• Remainders of Farooq's last food eaten was not sent for forensics by Islamabad Police.
• Writing statements in Urdu and attributing them to Farooq’s mother who never met a Police Officer on March 17. These statements already excluded poisoning and protected Ramada hotel. 
