Shumaila Imran, wife of Imran Farooq cries during a news conference at Scotland Yard in London.—Reuters

KARACHI: The body of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq, who was killed in London on Sept 16, will be flown to Karachi from London on Friday for burial the following day.

A spokesman for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement said on Monday that the London police, which kept the body for over one and a half months, had formally informed the family of the slain leader in London and the MQM that they would hand over the body ‘in a few hours’ and would have no objection if the family wanted to perform the last rites in their hometown.

The spokesman said a meeting of the MQM coordination committee had been held simultaneously in London and Karachi to finalise arrangements for transporting the body to Karachi and for the funeral.

According to an MQM press release, the funeral prayers of Dr Farooq would be offered at a mosque in London on Thursday. The body would then be flown to Karachi on Friday and would arrive here on Saturday.

His namaz-i-janaza would be offered at the Jinnah Ground in Azizabad after Zohr prayers on Saturday.

Dr Farooq’s widow Shumaila Imran, their two sons and parents and MQM leaders Dr Farooq Sattar, Raza Haroon, Mustafa Kamal and Wasey Jalil will accompany the body.

Sources said the meeting had decided that only a few leaders of the MQM would go to the Karachi airport to receive the body. “There will be no procession in view of security concerns,” they added.