• London asks Islamabad to share evidence
• BHC spox says UK police operates independently
• Viral video shows ‘threats being hurled’ at protest in Bradford

ISLAMABAD: After the Foreign Office summoned Acting British High Commissioner Matt Cannell on Friday to receive a demarche over “incitement to violence” against Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir “made on British soil”, the United Kingdom has advised Pakistan to share evidence with its police.

“Where a foreign government believes a crime has been committed, they should provide all relevant material to their UK police liaison. Any material that appears to break UK law will be reviewed by the police and may lead to a criminal investigation,” the spokesperson added.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andarabi confirmed that a demarche had been issued to the acting British high commissioner, demanding action against all those involved.

Informed sources said the British government had formally been asked to identify, arrest, investigate and prosecute those who used UK soil to “issue direct threats” against Pakistan’s top military leadership.

‘PTI UK X account’

They said an extremely “provocative” video was posted on PTI UK’s official X account on Dec 23, showing demonstrators — outside the Pakistani consulate in Bradford — openly threatening to murder the field marshal while surrounded by people holding PTI flags.

In the footage, a woman was heard making inflammatory remarks, suggesting using a car bomb to achieve the target.

The video subsequently went viral after circulating widely on different social media platforms, allegedly from PTI-linked accounts.

“Such threats constitute a clear violation of international norms and are considered a serious offence under the UK’s Terrorism Act 2006,” an official said. He insisted that such actions were not permissible under international law.

He said United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 obliges all states to prevent terrorism, incitement to violence and any form of support for such acts.

Earlier in the day, two ministers of state from the PML-N said the Pakistani government had written to UK authorities seeking action against what they described as “provocative” statements, particularly in reference to the video circulating online.

‘Footage available’

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry and Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani confirmed the development to Geo News, with the latter specifically mentioning that the “head of the armed forces had been threatened” in the video.

Mr Kayani also named the opposition PTI for its “involvement” in the matter, unlike Mr Chaudhry.

Asked about the video, Mr Chaudhry said Pakistan had formally written to the UK and “expected it to act in accordance with its laws and justice system”. He maintained that Pakistan had the right to take legal action against those “targeting its institutions”.

He recalled that complaints had previously been raised about the “use of social media platforms to incite hatred against state institutions and political figures”.

“The footage of the incident is available,” he added, referring to the video being discussed.

“This is not a political matter, nor one related to freedom of speech,” he said, calling it a clear violation of international law as well as the UK’s Terrorism Act 2006.

“Every state is responsible for ensuring that its citizens, asylum seekers or residents do not incite rebellion or violence against other sovereign states,” he stressed.

“What’s concerning is the specific mention of a car bomb blast, making it a targeted issue; it is not something generalised, it seems to be carefully planned, Mr Chaudhry said.

“It appears as if there is a larger plan involved, and Pakistan has raised these concerns [with the British government],” he added.

He hoped that the British government would take action, adding that in case of non-compliance, “Pakis­tan has other options as well”.

Mr Kayani termed the incident shown in the video “unacceptable” and “unfortunate”.

“We have repeatedly said that PTI spreads violence and threats under the guise of politics, justifies threats, and misuses freedom of speech,” he added.

‘Crossed a limit’

He continued that the PTI had “crossed a limit” by “threatening the army chief with murder under the guise of a political protest”.

“That’s not politics … it’s unacceptable,” he said. He termed the PTI a “national security threat”, alleging that it had always used politics to cover for “violence”.

“Whether on May 9 [riots in 2023], using KP police to attack soldiers, and threatening the army chief … if that’s not a national security threat, what is?”.

To a question on possible government action, Mr Kayani said Pakistan would first urge the UK to take immediate legal action and investigate the matter, while remaining open to other legal options.

Earlier this month, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the government would seek the repatriation of Pakistani YouTubers from the UK “involved in targeting state institutions”. Asked about criticism directed towards the army chief, the interior minister said: “The state is clear. We will not spare them.”

On Dec 4, Mr Naqvi, during a meeting with UK High Commissioner Jane Marriott, submitted extradition papers for former special assistant to the prime minister Shahzad Akbar and YouTuber Adil Raja, whom he accused of “spreading anti-Pakistan propaganda”.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2025