Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, has lodged a formal complaint with the London Transport Police following an unsettling encounter in which he was harassed and threatened with a knife. The incident occurred while Asif was travelling on the Elizabeth Line train on November 11, 2024, around 3:30 p.m.
In a meeting with local authorities at the Pakistan High Commission in London, Asif described the distressing experience. He was travelling from London to Reading with a relative when a group of three to four individuals began harassing him on the train. According to Asif, the group filmed him without his consent, used abusive language, and even made threats of a knife attack.
The Defence Minister, who did not recognize any of the individuals involved in the harassment, emphasized that the threats were deeply concerning, particularly for the large community of British-Pakistani citizens residing in the UK. He called on the London Transport Police to review CCTV footage from the train to help identify the individuals responsible for the incident.
“This was an unfortunate and deeply regrettable incident. Such acts of harassment and threats are not only shameful but also reflect badly on the broader community. We must ensure that such behaviour is dealt with swiftly,” said Asif during his meeting with the police.
The police are currently investigating the matter, and while the individuals involved have not been identified, authorities are hopeful that the CCTV footage will assist in their efforts to trace them.
This is not the first incident of Pakistani officials facing harassment in the UK. Recently, former Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa’s vehicle was attacked by PTI supporters during an event in London, and Judge Humayun Dilawar, who sentenced PTI founder Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, was also pursued by PTI supporters in 2023. Additionally, PML-N leaders, including Marriyum Aurangzeb and Hina Pervaiz Butt, have been similarly targeted by groups linked to PTI during their visits to the UK.
