Pak HC in London attacked by Afghan protesters

LONDON: A group of Afghan national protestors threw stones and water bottles at the building of Pakistan High Commission London and tried to sneak entry during a violent protest in the police presence.

A similar protest was held at the same time outside Qatar’s London embassy, a short distance away, against Qatar’s involvement in the ongoing Afghan peace process, but the protest there remained peaceful.

The footage shows several protestors throwing objects at Pakistan High Commission’s premises, located in the Lowndes Square, Knightsbridge, and using inciting language. The police can be seen moving to stop the protestors from entering the building. The Pakistan High Commission confirmed to The News that a complaint has been launched with the UK government to take action against the hooligans and bring to justice those who were involved in criminal damage at the Pakistani premises. The spokesman said that the video footage of the damage has been shared with the UK government authorities, requesting security arrangements in the same way as extensive security measures outside the premises of Israeli and Indian embassies in London – the two sites often the subject of protests by the rights groups.

The UK government has been reminded that during a PTM protest in 2019, Pakistan High Commission building was vandalised but no action was taken against the thugs then. In the latest communication, Pakistan High Commission has informed the UK government that PTM’s UK President Muhammad Yousaf was charged with sedition and conspiracy against Pakistan in February 2021.

The main organisers of the protest outside both Pakistan High Commission and Qatar embassy included Noor-Ullah, Dr Qasim Ibrahim, Fazal Khan Advocate, Zia-Ullah Hamdad, Bacha Khan, Shah Mehmood Khan, Atal Kawan, Sadaat Khan and Falik Nayaz Khan.

On Sunday afternoon, nearly 200 protesters had gathered on the call of a group called “The Watan”, which had called for protest against killings in Afghanistan. This group shares an address with Afghan embassy in London, at 31 Princes Gate, SW7.

When The News asked the spokesman for the group about the address of Afghan embassy given on its Facebook profile, he said: “You could be looking at the wrong Watan group as there are two groups of the same name”.

When told that the same Watan group, which organised the protest on its page, shared an address with the Afghan embassy, the spokesman said he could not comment further. The protest organisers handed over a memorandum to the High Commission, which carried a West Hendon address but the official Watan Facebook page continued to stay linked with Afghan embassy in London till the filing of the report.

The Watan’s spokesman accepted that “some protestors” were involved in vandalism at the Pakistan High Commission. “We have informed the police about the incident,” he said.