UK envoy summoned over anti-Pak campaign in London

ISLAMABAD: Friday saw Pakistan expressing its “serious concern” over attempts which were aimed at directly attacking Pakistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty by displaying “malicious content” on London roads.

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua summoned the British High Commissioner Thomas Drew to convey Pakistan’s “serious concern at the display of slogans in London cabs that directly attack Pakistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty”, spokesman at the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Using some very strong diplomatic language, Islamabad says that it has taken “a very serious notice of a pernicious and deceitful campaign using mischievous slogans against Pakistan on London cab(s)”.

In London, Pakistan’s High Commission says it has “forcefully” taken up the matter with all the concerned authorities urging them to take corrective measures urgently. It was not Pakistan’s High Commission in London but rather tweets by observant British Pakistanis who made the government here aware that London’s cabs were being driven around the capital with slogans of “Free Balochistan”, painted on them.

Tweets with photographs of the offending British cabs were also displayed on the social media. “Pakistan, in line with the UN Charter, rejects actions and advertisements with malicious content that impinge on our sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pakistan is aware of the intentions of such sinister and malicious campaigns, which should not be allowed on the soil of a friendly country,” the foreign secretary clearly told Britain’s top diplomat in Islamabad.

Pakistan says that this issue of ‘serious concern” was also being raised with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by its high commissioner in London. While the Foreign Office here shied away from revealing the reaction of High Commissioner Thomas Drew, the usual reaction always either holds out an assurance that Pakistan’s sentiments would be conveyed to London or else that the expression of free speech allows such activity against a sovereign state.

Nevertheless, unlike in some other European states this summer, Great Britain has a sizable number of Pakistani immigrants and such blatant attempts to question Pakistan’s “territorial integrity”, could come with a heavy price. Attempts to reach out to the new spokesman at the Foreign Office for reaction from Thomas Drew, resulted in phone calls and text messages being ignored.

It was Britain in the past that allowed “free speech” to former leader of MQM, Altaf Hussain, who was allowed to publicly in his speeches give orders of murder and arson, while the supporters of “free speech” watched silently as anarchy spread all over Karachi.

Fingers will point towards New Delhi for this latest attempt to hurt Pakistan’s image ever since Prime Minister Modi on August 15, 2016, in his remarks on Independence Day spoke about conditions inside Balochistan.

Modi had said, “Today, I want to especially honour and thank some people from the ramparts of the Red Fort. For the past few days, the people of Balochistan, people of Gilgit, people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the way their citizens have heartily thanked me, the way they have acknowledged me, the goodwill they have shown towards me, people settled far across, the land which I have not seen, people I have not met ever, but people settled far across acknowledge the Prime Minister of India, they honour him, so it is an honour of my 125 crore countrymen, it is respect of my 125 crore countrymen, and that is why, owing to the feeling of this honour, I want to heartily thank the people of Balochistan, people of Gilgit, people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir for having an expression of thankfulness.”

It was soon after that Modi sent in a senior serving naval officer, Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, for espionage activities. While presently Jadhav is on death row, Modi appears to have learnt nothing from such blatant interferences. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which Modi funds and supports, is a known terrorist organisation which is perpetrating terrorism and violence in Pakistan.

Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk

UK envoy summoned over anti-Pak campaign in London ISLAMABAD: Friday saw Pakistan expressing its “serious concern” over attempts which were aimed at directly attacking Pakistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty by displaying “malicious content” on London roads.

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UK envoy summoned over anti-Pak campaign in London

ISLAMABAD: Friday saw Pakistan expressing its “serious concern” over attempts which were aimed at directly attacking Pakistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty by displaying “malicious content” on London roads.