Acid attack: Shahzad Akbar’s legal action against the government of Pakistan

The senior advisor of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has started legal proceedings against the government of Pakistan. According to his claim, he suspects that the secret agency ISI is involved in the acid attack on him at his residence in Hertfordshire, UK.

Shahzad Akbar, who has led Pakistan’s anti-corruption efforts, has taken refuge in Britain since the fall of the Imran Khan government two years ago. He was lucky in the attack that his eyes were spared.

The attack took place on November 26 last year in front of his four-year-old daughter. He survived because of his glasses, but the glasses were badly damaged. Acid was thrown at Shahzad Akbar from a plastic bottle after he opened his door to a man riding a motorcycle wearing a helmet in Royston. The person had the helmet screen down.

The attack left Shahzad Akbar with acid burns on his head and arm, which were treated in hospital and left him with permanent scars.

Shahzad Akbar has told The Independent that ‘the physical wounds have healed. Psychics have become more profound. They wanted to send me the message that ‘I am not safe. This time they didn’t want to kill me, but we make it clear that they can.’

Solicitors Layday has today received a letter from the Pakistan High Commission in London in which it has accused ISI and Pakistan Army officers of attempting to assassinate Shahzad Akbar in November 2022. He is also responsible for the murder of investigative journalist and TV talk show host Arshad Sharif who worked with him.

Like Shahzad Akbar, Arshad Sharif also left Pakistan after the end of Imran Khan’s government.

Shahzad Akbar told The Independent that both of them had received death threats from the ISI for continuing to crack down on corruption by government officials and politicians from abroad.

However, Arshad Sharif failed to seek asylum in the UK and was killed by a paramilitary police unit in Kenya in October 2022.

The letter from Shahzad Akbar’s lawyers stated that his (Arshad Sharif) death was initially ruled a case of mistaken identity, but according to a fact-finding report by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry, it was ‘combined with foreign character’. The plan was a targeted killing.’

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The letter also states that on May 27 last year, Shahzad Akbar’s brother Murad was abducted from his residence in Islamabad by people dressed in police uniform. Later, his family filed a case of arbitrary detention after which an Islamabad judge ordered his recovery.

But Pakistani law enforcement agencies denied his arrest or whereabouts, while Akbar was told by ISI agents that the only way to free his brother was for him to return to Pakistan. Come and present evidence against Imran Khan in court. Imran Khan is currently in jail facing dozens of charges that his supporters say are false and fabricated.

A senior government official gave the same message at a press conference in Islamabad, which Akbar described as an attempt at ‘blackmail’. Mr. Akbar rejected it.

Three months later his brother was detained, only to be released due to British diplomatic pressure. Shahzad Akbar, who currently works for a human rights organization in London, says the impact of the attack on his family was devastating:

‘I am not allowed to enter my children’s school, which means I feel isolated and stigmatized by other parents. My daughter was standing next to me when I was attacked and is in trauma. I consider myself guilty of endangering my wife and children.’

He explains that he has set up a security system with the help of the police, ‘but in the end, if they want to kill me, they will. I hope my legal action will bring accountability to those responsible.

The Pakistan High Commission has been contacted for a response.