Dr. Akhtar Gulfam Editor-in-Chief, Daily Dawn, Director News Dawn TV
Cambridge: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Special Assistant Mirza Shahzad Akbar was attacked by unknown persons in the UK, resulting in him being seriously injured.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Special Assistant Mirza Shahzad Akbar has been living in exile since April 2022 and was injured as a result of the attack on his house.
Mirza Shahzad Akbar said that he was attacked, he went to the hospital, and the police were also contacted. He has sustained injuries and a fracture.
According to a post on the PTI’s X account, Shahzad Akbar was attacked at his house in Cambridge in the morning. The post said that the attacker repeatedly punched him in the face, resulting in his nose and jaw being broken. According to the party, the local police have collected all the details, and the investigation is ongoing.
When contacted by the UK’s most widely circulated newspaper and Newspaper of the Year, Nawa-e-Waqt, Daily Dawn, Dawn TV, and OK TV, Mirza Shahzad Akbar confirmed in text messages that he was attacked, went to the hospital, and the police were also contacted. He has sustained injuries and a fracture.
According to a post made on the PTI’s X account at 9:50 pm (Pakistan time) on Wednesday night, Shahzad Akbar was attacked at his home in Cambridge in the morning. The post said that the attacker repeatedly punched him in the face, resulting in a broken nose and jaw. According to the party, the local police have collected all the details, and the investigation is ongoing.
Mirza Shahzad Akbar, who was an advisor on accountability in the PTI government, had previously been attacked at his home in Hertfordshire in November 2023. At that time, a masked man threw acid on him. Akbar had given a statement to X after the incident that he would neither be intimidated nor bow down.
Mirza Shahzad Akbar had linked the attack to the Al-Qadir Trust case against PTI founder Imran Khan, and had alleged that security agencies were pressuring him to testify against the former prime minister. He also told Dawn that in recent months, he had received messages warning him to correct his behavior.
In April 2024, Mirza Shahzad Akbar initiated legal action against the Pakistani government in a UK court over the acid attack. He said that he had also sent notices to the Pakistan High Commission in the UK and other Pakistani authorities. However, in May 2024, the Foreign Office categorically rejected the allegations of state officials’ involvement in the 2023 acid attack, calling them baseless.
Meanwhile, an Islamabad court has declared Mirza Shahzad Akbar a declared accused in a case related to his alleged controversial statements on X. Following this, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met British High Commissioner Jane Marriott and handed over the extradition papers for Shahzad Akbar. Although there is no formal extradition treaty between Pakistan and the UK, there is an arrangement between the two countries under which Pakistani citizens involved in crimes or violating immigration laws can be sent back.
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