ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office “categorically” rejected what it said were “preposterous” claims by former special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) Mirza Shahzad Akbar about the alleged involvement of state officials in last year’s acid attack on him.
Akbar had said he was attacked at his England home last year, adding that “acidic liquid” was thrown at him. “I will not be intimidated nor bow down to those who are doing this,” he had said at the time without elaborating further.
According to Geo News, Akbar initiated legal action against the Pakistan government on Monday after Akbar served a copy to the Pakistan High Commission in London.
The notice names “several Pakistan government officials as responsible for the attack”, the report said. It added that Akbar alleged Pakistani officials were behind the attack which left him “scarred and with psychological injuries”.
Questioned about the matter during her weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the allegations made by Akbar were “simply preposterous”.“We categorically reject the allegations made by Shahzad Akbar, against the state of Pakistan and its institutions and agencies. These claims are baseless and are politically motivated.
“As we have said in the past, safety and security of Pakistani nationals, wherever they are, are a matter of priority for Pakistan. It is not the policy of Pakistan to target its own nationals abroad.
“Several high-profile political dissidents have been living in the United Kingdom for several decades. They have often indulged in vitriol and invective against Pakistan … Pakistan has not engaged in any extra-territorial acts against these individuals,” Baloch said.
Akbar was a former SAPM during the PTI government. He had left Pakistan soon after PTI founder Imran Khan was ousted through a no-confidence motion in April 2022. He had reportedly left for Dubai from where he departed for the United Kingdom.
Baloch was also questioned regarding apprehensions by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub on April 25 that Pakistan handed control of two airbases to the United States. Similar concerns were made by senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser today.
“This speculation is completely unfounded. We reject it and there is absolutely no basis for these social media speculations,” she responded.
