British authorities are currently looking into a series of targeted attacks against dissident members of the Pakistani population residing within the borders of the UK. This comes at a time of great unrest that some countries may be engaging in persecution through criminal syndicates. The violations include physical assault, attempted arson, and a gun attack, all of which may portend one of the gravest instances of trans-state persecution that the British authorities are grappling with.
The case was taken over by Counter Terrorism Policing Command, an arm of the Metropolitan Police, after four incidents targeting two prominent figures within imprisoned Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s circle. Investigations and arrests have been made, but incidents continued to happen after, posing several questions on deterrence, state accountabilities, and effective security for political exiles across the UK.
Why Counter-Terrorism Police Are Involved
The involvement of Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism unit is telling. CTP typically handles cases involving national security threats, hostile state activity, or terrorism-related offences. Attacks that follow hallmarks of state-linked operations, according to security officials, include: careful target selection, repeated escalation, use of hired operatives, and intimidation with the aim of silencing political speech rather than committing ordinary crime.
The use of a firearm—highly unusual in politically motivated attacks against exiles in the UK—has elevated the case further. UK intelligence assessments have regularly warned that authoritarian states are increasingly using criminal proxies, rather than intelligence officers, in their efforts to suppress dissidents abroad while maintaining a veneer of plausible deniability.
Timeline of Attacks: A Pattern of Escalation
The first two attacks happened on Christmas Eve, when perpetrators struck two different targets in Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire. The first was in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, where two perpetrators broke into a home belonging to a Pakistani dissident and vandalized it. On the same day, human rights lawyer Mirza Shahzad Akbar was assaulted while in his home in Cambridgeshire.
A former member of Imran Khan’s cabinet, who is currently a vocal dissenting voice against the present leadership of Pakistan, referred to the violent attack by the masked man who checked the identity of the victim before raining dozens of punches mostly to the victim’s face, which indicates preplanned training for the men who carried out the attack.
In response to this threat, the advice of the police was to leave the home and go into hiding. The second attack occurred on the 31st of December, shortly after Akbar went back to his home. The incident was captured by a CCTV camera, which revealed two masked individuals approaching the home, where one of the individuals discharged three bullets into the front window with a firearm. The second person attempted to set fire to the property by throwing a burning rag into the home, although this did not happen due to the sounds coming from the neighbors.
A further incident occurred on 10 January, during which a man broke into the area, poured chemicals on the outer wall, broke several windows with the aid of an iron rod, and fled upon setting off alarms. Racist graffiti was spotted on the property.
A History of Targeting and Intimidation
Akbar has previously been targeted. In 2023, he survived an unsolved acid attack at his home. The recurrence of attacks over multiple years, combined with their intensifying severity, has reinforced fears that the objective is sustained intimidation rather than retaliation for a single grievance.
“I am a Pakistani dissident living in exile,”
Akbar said.
“I openly criticise a regime backed by the military. This was not random. These people were hired.”
He added that the continuation of attacks even after an arrest had been made suggested a deliberate attempt to undermine UK authorities and project impunity.
The Broader Context: Transnational Repression in the UK
The UK’s intelligence agencies have been sounding warnings for some time that hostile countries around the globe, such as Russia, Iran, and China, among many more, have been heightening their activities to pursue dissidents on British territory. The UK authorities say that between 2022 only, they had to probe dozens of cases of harassment, surveillance, coercion, violence against political opponents who live out of their home countries.
However, sources close to the investigation report that Pakistan rarely pops up in such incidents, let alone before firearms were used. This represents a bleak political shift in an area of regime behavior typically characteristic of a more aggressive authoritarian governance style.
While the supply of the attackers being fair-skinned, donning masks, or perhaps being white also raises more queries in regards to the utilization of criminal surrogates to veil any traces of foreign sponsorship.
Political Sensitivities and UK Government Silence
The UK government, through its Foreign Office, declined to comment on the matter, saying it is still under investigation by the police authorities. However, other human rights bodies have pointed out that failing to speak out on the matter might only encourage criminals and those involved. Reprieve, which is backing Akbar, has called on the government to condemn the assaults and declare to its subjects that they would not accept political intimidation through violence.
Diplomatically, the move is sensitive, for Pakistan is an important security partner for the UK, which makes the allegations difficult to place diplomatically. However, the lack of response by Britain has made it difficult for the country to be seen as a sanctuary for political exiles and refugees.
Arrest Made, Questions Remain
The police have also confirmed that they have held in custody on suspicion of attempted arson and firearms possession a man who was arrested on January 5 in Essex, who is 34 years old. He has since been released on bail as investigations into the matter are continuing. Although they have opened their minds to the motive of the attacks, they are aware that they are “highly targeted.”
The uncertainty is still there, especially for Akbar and persons like him.
“They are trying to scare me,”
Akbar said.
“And it’s working. I fear for my life and my family’s lives.”
A Test Case for Britain’s Response to Foreign Intimidation
The investigation has become a test of how far the UK is willing—and able—to confront transnational repression when it intersects with diplomatic convenience. As more political dissidents seek refuge in Britain, the outcome may shape whether the country remains a genuine sanctuary or becomes another contested arena in global political conflicts.
