LONDON: Former special assistant to the ex-prime minister (SAPM) Mirza Shahzad Akbar said on Thursday that he suffered a fractured nose and other facial injuries after being attacked at his home in the United Kingdom.

Mr Akbar, who has lived in self-imposed exile since April 2022, said an unk­nown assailant dressed in “construction or waste-collection attire” attacked him Wednesday morning in Cambridge.

“The individual asked, ‘Are you Shahzad Akbar?’ and immediately began assaulting me,” Mr Akbar posted on the social media platform X. “I sustained facial injuries, including bruising and a fractured nose.”

The PTI said the attacker punched Mr Akbar repeatedly in the face, fracturing his jaw and nose. Mr Akbar confirmed he was treated at a hospital and discharged, adding that police are “actively investigating this targeted attack”.

The former accountability adviser termed the assault “cowardly” and urged the British government to ensure the safety of dissidents.

“Violence will not intimidate me or deter me from speaking out,” he wrote, vowing to continue exposing “corruption, human rights violations, and the erosion of democratic norms in Pakistan”.

This is a second such incident since November 2023 attack, when a masked individual threw acidic liquid at Mr Akbar’s home in Hertfordshire. While Mr Akbar initiated legal action alleging Pakistani state involvement, Pakistan’s Foreign Office has “categorically rejected” those claims as “preposterous”.

Recently declared a proclaimed offender by an Islamabad court, Mr Akbar faces renewed extradition efforts. Pakistan’s interior minister recently met with the UK high commissioner to hand over papers seeking Mr Akbar’s repatriation.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2025