Representative image (AP)
LONDON: Three British nationals have been charged with targeting two Pakistan dissidents in the UK who are prominent supporters of jailed former Pakistan PM Imran Khan.Karl Blackbird, (40) and Clark McAulay (39), both from Coventry, and Doneto Brammer (21) from London, appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court on Saturday. They did not indicate a plea and were remanded in custody till their next hearing at the Old Bailey on Feb 13.The men were part of a “sophisticated and planned agreement” to go to the houses of Pakistani dissidents Mirza Shahzad Akbar, former adviser to Khan, and Adil Raja, journalist and former major in the Pakistan army, at almost exactly the same time on Dec 24 and assault them, prosecutor Warren Stanier told the court, Reuters reported.Blackbird and McAulay are charged with, on Dec 24, conspiring to assault Pakistan-born journalist and YouTuber Adil Raja at his home in Chesham.The court heard that the two men called at Raja’s home and tried to force entry but Raja was not there, Reuters reported.Blackbird is also charged with conspiring with others to assault Shazad Akbar. On Dec 24 Akbar, a former member of Khan’s cabinet, was struck many times in the face after opening the door to his house in Cambridge to a masked man who had asked for him by name, Reuters said. Brammer is charged with, on New Year’s Eve, illegally possessing a gun, conspiring with others to set fire to the home of Akbar, and conspiracy to commit arson.Two men are believed to have broken a window at Akbar’s address using a gun and then attempted to throw a burning rag inside. However, it did not cause any damage.“Due to what appears to be the highly targeted nature of the incidents, the matters are being investigated by detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London,” a Metropolitan police spokesperson said. “Officers are keeping an open mind as to whether any of the incidents are linked.”Akbar, 48, told the Guardian he was in hiding after the attacks: “I am a Pakistani dissident living in exile. I am an open critic of the Pakistani regime. I cannot say who did it. However, one thing is certain: it was a targeted attack and the people who attacked were probably hired by someone.”Raja was sentenced to life in prison by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan in absentia this month for “waging war against Pakistan” in relation to the violent unrest triggered on May 9, 2023.Islamabad formally offered to take back two British Pakistani men convicted of grooming girls in exchange for the extradition of Akbar and Raja in Dec, according to the Daily Telegraph.
