Daily Times

Despite being heckled and threatened with a knife attack in London, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said he “is not scared at all and will continue walking around London, alone”.

In an interview, Asif, who is on a private trip to London, said: “I don’t take security in Pakistan and anywhere else. I walk in London for at least eight kilometres daily. I am not intimidated. I will carry on saying what I say and believing in what I do.”

The defence czar also revealed that he was harassed and threatened with a knife attack for around 10 minutes while travelling on the London train bound for Heathrow Airport.

“Only a short clip has been uploaded. There is only one threat of a knife attack in that clip. The person filming and harassing me made a video for about 10 minutes. The actual video is not less than 10 minutes. In that, he threatened me with the knife attack at least four times. He clearly told me he wanted to attack me with a knife.”

Asif said he had filed a formal complaint with the Metropolitan Police after being harassed and threatened with a knife during a train journey near Heathrow Airport.

He said: “The police met me at the High Commission and assured me they will fully investigate the matter. The good thing is the full video was made of me under a camera installed in the train section where I was boarded with my cousin’s brother. We had taken the train from Bond Street to Reading, got on to the Heathrow train in the mix-up and got for the Reading train where the film ends. The verbal assault lasted for nearly ten minutes. I don’t usually hold myself back verbally and physically but I showed restraint on this occasion, Alhamdulillah.”

The seasoned politician said he had no doubt the person threatening him was from the Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and added that the video was made viral by a PTI-affiliated account. However, the PTI has denied any responsibility and its several key figures have condemned the heckling incident.

Asif said he was happy with the response of the police and hoped the person would be brought to justice soon. “I have been coming to London since 1980. I have never faced anything like this before. Slogans have been shouted at me. This is normal in politics and being public figures, we expect this but I have never been threatened with a knife before in my life.”

The London Transport Police have confirmed they are investigating the matter after the footage was passed to the police even before the four officers visited the Pakistan High Commission on Thursday afternoon to meet Asif.

The incident, which occurred on the Elizabeth Line around 3:30pm on Monday, saw a group of three to four individuals approach Asif and harass him while he was on his way to Reading on Elizabeth Line. Only one man is heard in the video making references to being attacked with a blade.

The defence minister expressed his dismay over the incident, calling it shameful and regrettable, as it adds to a troubling trend of harassment faced by Pakistani officials and political figures in the UK.

The most recent example of such harassment involved former chief justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, whose vehicle was attacked by a group of PTI supporters in London last month.

Similarly, Judge Humayun Dilawar, who sentenced PTI founder Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, was also chased by PTI supporters in August 2023.