PTI deletes Bradford protest video after Pakistan raises incitement concerns with Britain

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s UK chapter has removed a social media post showing footage from a protest outside the Pakistani consulate in Bradford, after the government accused a woman in the video of inciting violence against Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and formally took up the matter with Britain.

The action came a day after the Foreign Office summoned Acting British High Commissioner Matt Cannell in Islamabad and handed him a demarche over what it described as “incitement to violence” from British soil, urging UK authorities to investigate the incident and take legal action under domestic law.

In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, PTI UK said it had deleted the video from the Bradford protest that included what it called “a citizen’s metaphorical remarks regarding General Asim Munir”.

The party’s UK chapter said it did not believe the individual had directly incited violence but removed the post “in an abundance of caution to prevent potential misunderstanding”.

The statement stressed that PTI “does not endorse unlawful behaviour of any kind” and urged supporters and “independent citizens” to measure their words so as not to be misconstrued.

The Bradford protest, held earlier this week, was one of several demonstrations by overseas PTI supporters in solidarity with imprisoned party founder Imran Khan. Protesters gathered outside the Pakistani consulate carrying party flags and chanting slogans critical of the military leadership.

Video at centre of row

A clip from the rally, uploaded from the verified @UKPTIOfficial account, showed a woman addressing the crowd and referring to the army chief in the context of a potential car bomb attack — language the government says crossed a red line by suggesting violence rather than mere political criticism.

Pakistani officials say the footage and its transcript have been shared with British authorities, along with a formal complaint accusing the speaker and those who amplified the video of “incitement to terrorism, violence and internal destabilisation of a sovereign state”.

The original video has since been removed from PTI UK’s feed, but screenshots and reposts are still circulating on social media, including reels and clips shared by journalists and news outlets that have been cited by the government in its correspondence with London.

Demarche to UK and call for legal action

On Friday, the Foreign Office said it had lodged a strong protest with the UK over the “highly provocative” remarks and demanded that those responsible be identified, investigated and prosecuted under British counterterrorism laws, arguing that calls for a car bomb attack fell outside the scope of free speech.

Officials also asked the UK to act against social media accounts allegedly involved in promoting violence against Pakistan’s state institutions, saying such activity could not be justified by claims of political asylum or exile.

State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry, speaking to a private news channel, said the “car bomb threat” at the Bradford rally “crossed all limits” and “does not fall into the category of freedom of speech”, urging British authorities to open a criminal investigation.

The UK High Commission in Islamabad, in a brief statement carried by international media, responded that where a foreign government believes a crime has been committed, it should share relevant material with its police liaison, and any content that appears to breach UK law may be reviewed by the police and potentially trigger a criminal probe.

PTI faces pressure at home and abroad

The controversy has added a new layer to already fraught relations between PTI and the security establishment. In recent weeks, military spokesmen have publicly criticised Khan’s rhetoric, with one senior officer describing the former premier as “mentally ill”. PTI, for its part, accuses Field Marshal Munir of orchestrating what it calls politically motivated cases that have kept its founder behind bars.

At the same time, some PTI supporters abroad say the woman’s remarks were emotional and metaphorical rather than an actual call for a terror attack, reflecting deep anger over crackdowns, disqualifications and the treatment of Khan and his allies since the party was ousted from power in 2022.

Government’s wider campaign against overseas critics

The demarche over Bradford fits into a broader push by the government to rein in overseas-based critics who target Pakistan’s state institutions from abroad. Earlier this month, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said authorities would seek the repatriation of Pakistanis in the UK, including YouTubers and former officials, accused of running campaigns against the military and other state organs. He has publicly warned that “the state will not spare” those who cross certain lines.

In a meeting with the UK high commissioner earlier in December, Naqvi handed over extradition papers for former aide to the prime minister Shahzad Akbar and commentator Adil Raja, accusing them of spreading “anti-Pakistan propaganda” online — a sign that Islamabad is increasingly ready to use legal and diplomatic tools against voices it sees as threatening national security.

Thin line between protest and ‘incitement’

For Britain, the case tests how far political speech by diaspora communities can go before it triggers criminal scrutiny. Under UK law, protests and even harsh criticism of foreign governments are broadly protected, but explicit threats of violence or glorification of terrorism can fall foul of counterterrorism legislation. Whether British police decide that the Bradford remarks meet that threshold will likely depend on how they assess intent, context and the wider pattern of messaging highlighted by Pakistan.

For PTI, the deleted post underscores the risks of social media mobilisation that relies on raw, unfiltered footage from emotionally charged gatherings. PTI UK now finds itself trying to balance a frustrated support base eager to confront the military’s role in Pakistani politics with the need to reassure both British and Pakistani authorities that it is not endorsing violence.