LONDON: A group of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters held a protest outside Avenfield flats where call to shoot former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was made by a caller; another protestor threatened to break law and a group of protestors attempted to break down the main gate.
Around 40 protestors raised slogans in support of the PTI and many were wearing PTI caps. However, PTI’s elected body issued a statement distancing itself from the protest.
A protestor could be heard shouting in a video that “some shoot him” in reference to Nawaz Sharif’s presence in Avenfield flats. Another protestor was carrying a poster which read “we cannot wait for the law”, “Avenfield belongs to us to keep”, “Imran Khan our pride” and “long live PTI”.
Another protestor called for the Taliban-style bombing of the Avenfield apartments and said casualties in such bombings are normal. Another protestor used threatening language for Asif Saeed Khosa, the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Video footage shows at least three protestors banging the front gate in order to break down while two protestors entered inside the gate from side entrance and asked by the police to come out.
Similar scenes were witnessed when Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz left for Pakistan to go to jail in the summer of 2018, a few days before the general elections.
Ahead of the violent protest on Sunday, an organiser of the protest issued a call asking for the occupation of Avenfield House. He said in a viral audio message: “It’s our duty to occupy property of these people. This is our right. This property belongs (to) the people of Pakistan. We are monitoring the whole situation and if needed we will move in. We will move into the Avenfield house in the same way that property of Libyan leader Qaddafi was occupied and the British government took no action against them because the government thought these properties were made with the looted money. For us to occupy these properties, it’s our right because this money belongs to Pakistan. It’s our duty to occupy properties of everyone who comes to the UK.”
Ahead of Nawaz Sharif’s arrival, an elected senior official of the PTI in the UK had issued a similar call for violence on Twitter. She said: “For his own safety, I strongly recommend Nawaz Sharif not leave his Avenfield Apartments. If he’s seen shopping in Knightsbridge, overseas Pakistanis will give him response even his few remaining platelets won’t know where to hide!!”
Taqveem Ahsan Siddiqui, in a statement issued earlier on Sunday, said: “The PTI has not called for any demonstration outside disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s residence”. Siddiqui said: “It has been brought to our attention that an invite to demonstrate outside his residence is in circulation. PTI-UK does not have any intention to call or join any demonstration outside Nawaz Sharif’s residence until he abides by his bail condition.”
He added that Nawaz Sharif was in the UK for a medical check-up as per conditions for his bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC), and as long as the bail conditions were effective and he abides by them, the PTI-UK had no intention to have any activism outside his residence.
Siddiqui said the PTI-UK distances itself from any such event or individual calling for such event until announced through official means and office bearers of the party chapter in the UK. He added: “PTI-UK advises all supporters and activists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to get confirmation from their respective elected officials of the chapters before attending any such activities.”
A spokesperson for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said the person who made violent threats had been reported to police. The spokesperson added the person had issued violent threats of entering the property by force, which was an offence, and the police had been informed.