The Pakistan government has intensified action against its two biggest critics Shahzad Akbar and Adil Raja living in London. Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi met British High Commissioner Jane Marriott and made a formal demand for the extradition of both. Naqvi also handed over official documents and evidence prepared against the two to the British side. He said that Shahzad Akbar and Adil Raja are wanted in Pakistan and they should be immediately handed over to the country.
Naqvi said that he is in favor of freedom of expression, but fake news has become a big threat to every country. There is solid evidence of propaganda being run against both the citizens. Senior journalist and Human Rights Watch associate Adil Raja had said in April that the Pahalgam terrorist attack was carried out at the behest of Munir. Quoting intelligence sources, Raja said that Munir carried out this attack so that the cases pending against him could be suppressed.
Raja's allegation was that Munir first instigates Pakistanis settled abroad with provocative speeches and then after such attacks, increases political control citing security. Adil Raja has been continuously speaking openly on the policies of Pakistan Army and Munir, due to which he became the target of the army.
Shahzad Akbar has also been a big critic of Munir. He was an anti-corruption advisor in the Imran Khan government and many major corruption cases were investigated under his leadership. Shahzad Akbar raised questions on the political interference of Asim Munir and the army in open forums. He continued to raise his voice against the increasing control over the government by the army. Due to this ideological conflict, the relations between Akbar and the army continued to deteriorate.
After the fall of Imran Khan's government in 2022, several investigations were started against Shahzad in Pakistan and his name was included in the Exit Control List (ECL). After getting the permission of the court, he went to Britain, but after this the Pakistan government canceled his passport and also refused to renew it.
Akbar claimed that he faced political harassment, death threats and even acid attacks in Pakistan. For this reason, he took refuge in Britain and from there he keeps speaking on the increasing dominance of Pakistan's politics and army.
