Pakistan urges UK action over violent threat made against Field Marshal at PTI Bradford event

• Pakistan govt hands over video, transcript to UK authorities.
• Messaging reflects intent of provoking unrest, street violence: letter.
•  It says political asylum doesn't confer immunity to promote terror.

LONDON: Pakistan has formally asked the UK authorities to investigate a PTI activist inciting violence against Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir, including threats suggesting he should be killed in a car blast, outside Bradford Consulate during a protest two days ago called by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

The video was uploaded by "UKPTIOFFICIAL" account, in which a woman speaker can be heard making a car bomb violence threat against Field Marshal Munir, similar to the plane blast that took the life of General Zia ul Haq nearly three decades ago.

The Pakistan government has handed over the video and its transcript to the UK authorities — in Islamabad and London — expressing "grave concern regarding a serious and unprecedented misuse of British territory for activities that amount to incitement to terrorism, violence, and internal destabilisation of a sovereign state".

The letter points out that, "The official social media account of PTI UK has circulated video material in which individuals, while physically present in the United Kingdom, are openly calling for the assassination of Field Marshal Munir. This content is neither rhetorical nor political. It constitutes explicit incitement to murder and the glorification of violence against the senior military leadership of a UN Member State".

"Equally alarming is that this messaging is deliberately amplified to audiences inside Pakistan, with the clear intent of provoking unrest, street violence, and confrontation with state institutions. PTI-linked platforms operating from the UK have repeatedly issued calls encouraging disorder, agitation, and violent mobilisation within Pakistan— effectively seeking to instigate internal violence from abroad while remaining beyond domestic accountability.

"Such conduct violates international and domestic legal obligations, including but not limited to: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, which obliges states to prevent and suppress incitement, recruitment, and support for terrorist and violent acts, including cross-border incitement; the UK Terrorism Act 2006, particularly provisions criminalising encouragement, glorification, and indirect incitement to terrorism and violence; and established principles of state responsibility, which prohibit the use of one state’s territory to incite violence, threaten stability, or undermine the constitutional order of another".

The letter states that Pakistan has, over the years, raised concerns regarding the repeated use of UK territory by individuals and groups engaged in militancy, separatism, and violent agitation against Pakistan.

"While such matters have strained bilateral confidence in the past, the present incident represents a qualitative escalation: the open call for assassination combined with sustained incitement to violence and unrest inside Pakistan. Freedom of expression does not include the freedom to incite murder or civil violence. Political activism does not extend to conspiracy or encouragement of bloodshed. Political asylum does not confer immunity to promote terrorism or destabilisation abroad."

The letter formally expects the UK government to: immediately identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals involved in issuing and amplifying calls for assassination and violence; investigate PTI UK and affiliated platforms for their role in inciting violence, hatred, and mass unrest inside Pakistan; take decisive legal and administrative measures, including prohibition where warranted, to prevent PTI from operating in the UK as a vehicle for incitement and destabilisation; ensure that UK territory is not used to inspire violence, disorder, or terrorism within Pakistan.

"This matter constitutes a serious test of the United Kingdom’s commitment to counter-terrorism obligations, international law, and responsible state conduct. Silence or inaction will not be interpreted as neutrality; it will be understood as tolerance, with serious consequences for trust and cooperation. Pakistan values its relationship with the United Kingdom and expects this issue to be addressed with urgency, clarity, and adherence to the rule of law," the letter adds.