Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has said that the report about threats to Pakistani dissidents in United Kingdom (UK) is “unfortunate and based on conspiracy theories”, according to Dawn.
Earlier on Sunday, The Guardian published a report, saying Pakistani dissidents residing in the United Kingdom were told by the kingdom’s security services that their lives are in danger.
According to the report, exiled Pakistanis were warned by authorities in the UK that they will be targeted. The report said, “Pakistan, a strong UK ally — particularly on intelligence issues — might be prepared to target individuals on British soil.”
“The concern now is that Pakistan appears to be moving from suppressing criticism within its borders to targeting critics based overseas”.
According to Dawn, Fawad commented on the report and said that it is “unfortunate and based on conspiracy theories”. “The Met Police is holding one of Pakistan’s biggest terrorists there… how can they talk about threats?” he said.
The information minister also dismissed the threats to journalists in Pakistan and said that the existence of hundreds of news channels in Pakistan negates the perception that the media is squeezed.
“The truth is that international powers squeeze countries by putting sanctions, and freedom of expression is a new blackmailing term. Pakistan is probably the freest country when it comes to freedom of speech. In fact, it is so free that there is no culture of libel and defamation laws. If it was there, journalists would be bankrupt,” Fawad was quoted as saying by Dawn.
