Pakistan summons UK diplomat over a threat to army chief during a rally

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan summoned Britain’s deputy high commissioner on Friday after a viral video showed a woman at a rally in a northern English city saying the Pakistani army chief would die in a possible attack.

The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Matt Cannell to demand an investigation into a woman who discussed the possible killing of Pakistan’s chief of defense staff, Asim Munir, in a car bombing, officials and local media said.

The woman was rallying in Bradford, England, in support of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Khan, ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, has been in prison for two years on a corruption conviction. He remains popular with many supporters.

The Bradford rally came days after a Pakistani court sentenced Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 17 years in prison for allegedly retaining and selling state gifts, including jewelry from Saudi Arabia, below market value while Khan was in office.

The video was posted by the British chapter of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on X and was later deleted.

On Friday, Pakistan’s deputy interior minister, Talal Chaudhry, told Geo Television that while Khan’s party has been inciting supporters against the military, “the car bomb threat” at the Bradford rally “crossed all limits.” “It doesn't fall into the category of freedom of speech,” he said, urging the U.K. government to investigate and take legal action.

Meanwhile, the U.K. High Commission in Islamabad said in a brief statement: “Where a foreign Government believes a crime has been committed, they should provide all relevant material to their UK police liaison. Any material that appears to break UK law will be reviewed by the police and may lead to a criminal investigation.”

Tensions between the party and the military have recently escalated. Army spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry described Khan as “mentally ill” during a Dec. 5 news conference, following posts on Khan's official X account, calling Munir “mentally unstable.”

Many of Khan’s supporters accuse Munir of being behind their leader's imprisonment.

Munir rose to prominence earlier this year after Pakistan said it repelled India in a four-day border conflict. The nuclear-armed rivals exchanged tit-for-tat strikes in May, following an Indian operation targeting militants inside Pakistan, whom New Delhi accused of involvement in the killing of 26 tourists in India-controlled Kashmir.

Khan has repeatedly alleged that his removal was part of a U.S.-backed conspiracy supported by Pakistan’s military, claims rejected by Washington, the military and his political opponents.