Pakistan has asked the United Kingdom to help protect its Field Marshal, Asim Munir, after a public threat was made against him in Britain. Sources told CNN-News18 that this request shows the Pakistan Army is losing control, both inside the country and among its supporters abroad.
The request highlights growing problems for the military leadership, especially within Pakistan’s overseas support network.
Threat in Bradford Sparks Diplomatic Action
Islamabad has sent a formal diplomatic note, known as a démarche, to British authorities. This came after a protest outside the Pakistani consulate in Bradford, where a threat was made against Field Marshal Munir.
Pakistani officials have asked the UK to take action under British law. They say a video of the incident proves that violence was encouraged.
Video Footage Cited by Pakistan
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, the video was shared by the UKPTIofficial social media account. It shows a woman speaking at the protest and making a violent threat against Field Marshal Munir.
Officials claim she mentioned a car bomb and compared it to the 1988 plane explosion that killed former president General Zia ul Haq. Pakistani ministers argue that her words crossed the line from political protest into terrorism-related language.
They believe the comments were meant to encourage violence.
Rising Dependence on Foreign Governments
This episode has drawn attention to Pakistan’s increasing reliance on foreign governments to deal with threats against its top military leaders. Even when those threats come from Pakistanis living abroad, Islamabad is now turning to other countries for help.
Critics say this shows a deeper problem. They argue the military is losing its grip on overseas supporters and facing growing anger from Pakistanis living outside the country.
PTI Rejects Government’s Claims
Supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) strongly disagree with the government’s version of events. Sources close to the party say the Bradford protest was aimed at what they call military interference in civilian politics.
They insist it was not an organised or approved threat against anyone.
PTI leaders also claim the video is being used selectively. They say it is being highlighted to label political opposition as criminal and to silence critics of Field Marshal Munir living overseas.
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Free Speech or Political Targeting?
The party says freedom of speech abroad is being wrongly treated as terrorism. PTI argues this is being done to distract from Pakistan’s internal political crisis and serious economic problems.
PTI has further accused Islamabad of pushing foreign governments to act against its political rivals overseas. They claim this is happening because the government has failed to gain public support at home.
According to PTI, the démarche sent to Britain is not about real security concerns. Instead, they believe it is an attempt to turn Pakistan’s internal power struggle into an international issue and to scare members of the Pakistani diaspora who oppose the military leadership.