Pak Official Sparks Outrage with Throat-Slitting Gesture at Indian Protesters in London
A senior Pakistani official triggered outrage after making a throat-slitting gesture at peaceful Indian protesters outside the Pakistan High Commission in London, days after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Tensions flared outside the Pakistan High Commission in London after a senior Pakistan Army official was caught on video making a throat-slitting gesture toward protesters demonstrating against the Pahalgam terror attack.
The protesters, who included members of the Indian and Jewish communities, gathered to condemn the killing of 26 Indian tourists by Pakistan-backed terrorists in Kashmir’s Baisaran Valley.
In viral video clips circulating since Friday morning, the official — identified by several social media users as Taimur Rahat, Defence Attache at the Pakistan High Commission — is seen making the offensive gesture while holding a poster featuring Indian Air Force Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman.
Abhinandan, who was captured and later released by Pakistan in 2019 following an aerial dogfight, was symbolically invoked during the protest. The mocking gesture by the Pakistani official was widely condemned online, with users branding it “sick,” “disgusting,” and “a reminder of Pakistan’s hostility.”
Speaking to news agency ANI, an Indo-Jewish protester at the site said, “We support India because we face the same enemy: Islamist radicalisation. What happened in Pahalgam reminded us of the Hamas attack on Israel.”
Reacting sharply to the incident, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh condemned the action and warned Pakistan of impending consequences.
“What else can Pakistan even do?… An apocalypse is hovering over your head… Yet you are threatening to behead innocent people,” Singh told ANI. He added that the individuals responsible would be “identified and held accountable in England too.”
The incident comes against a backdrop of escalating diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, with India suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and cutting off visa services for Pakistanis.
The demonstration outside the Pakistan High Commission followed the terror attack in Baisaran Valley, where Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists targeted and killed 26 Hindu tourists. Survivors alleged that the attackers selectively singled out Hindu men before opening fire.
The attack, condemned globally, further strained Indo-Pakistani relations, prompting India to impose a series of diplomatic and trade restrictions against Pakistan.
The video of the throat-slitting gesture is expected to escalate diplomatic friction further. Indian authorities are likely to raise the issue with the British government and international bodies, demanding accountability for such provocative behavior by accredited diplomats.
