Pakistani politician Imran Farooq died from stab wounds

Imran Farooq had been in exile in the UK since the 1990s

A Pakistani politician who was attacked on his way home from work died from multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head, police have said.

Imran Farooq, 50, was found stabbed and beaten to death outside his home in Green Lane, Edgware, north London, shortly before 1700 BST on Thursday.

A post-mortem examination took place at Finchley Mortuary on Friday.

Colleagues of the man fear he was deliberately targeted by opponents.

Police issued an urgent appeal for witnesses as they continued their door-to-door inquiries.

Political asylum

A Metropolitan Police (Met) spokesman said: "Police want to speak to anyone who was in the area at the time or saw the attack."

The senior Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party member vanished from Pakistan in 1992 after security forces launched what was known as "Operation Clean-up" in the city of Karachi.

He reappeared in London in 1999, when he claimed political asylum.

His murder sparked violence in Karachi on Friday, where vehicles and shops were set alight despite a call for 10 days of peaceful mourning.

The investigation was passed last night from Scotland Yard's homicide and serious crime wing to its counter-terrorism command, signalling that senior detectives fear the crime could be politically motivated.