A senior Pakistan Army official stationed at the Pakistan High Commission in London was caught on camera making a threatening throat-slitting gesture toward Indian community members protesting the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
Colonel Taimur Rahat, Pakistan’s Army and Air Advisor in the UK, was seen in viral videos making the alarming gesture during a peaceful protest held by over 500 British Hindus outside the Pakistan High Commission on Friday. The demonstrators, holding Indian flags and placards, gathered to condemn the April 22 terrorist attack in which 26 civilians, including one Nepali citizen, were killed.
The protestors, grieving the loss of innocent lives, chanted slogans against terrorism and called out Pakistan for allegedly sheltering terror groups responsible for the attack. They also expressed outrage over the High Commission’s behavior during the protest, accusing officials of playing celebratory music and making dismissive remarks.
“Today’s protest was meant to demand justice and accountability for the innocent lives lost. Instead, we were met with shocking insensitivity from the Pakistan Embassy,” one organiser stated. “Celebratory music during a mourning protest is a disgrace and an affront to human decency.”
Members of the Indian diaspora voiced anger over Pakistan’s alleged support for terrorism. One protester told ANI, “Pakistan has nurtured a terror ecosystem, and because of that, our people were slaughtered in Pahalgam.” An Indo-Jewish participant echoed the sentiment, likening the attack to the Hamas assault on Israel in 2023 and expressing solidarity between the Jewish and Indian communities against “Islamist radicalisation.”
The protest organisers condemned Colonel Rahat’s gesture as not only undiplomatic but overtly provocative, urging the UK government to summon the Pakistani High Commissioner for an official explanation. They also demanded that Pakistan publicly denounce the killings and commit to ending its support for terrorism.
Following the Pahalgam attack, India launched strong diplomatic responses including suspension of the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme for Pakistani nationals, closure of the Attari Integrated Check Post, downgrading diplomatic staff in high commissions, and suspending the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960.
The Indian community has called for international pressure to bring the perpetrators and their sponsors to justice, asserting that gestures like the one made by Colonel Rahat only reaffirm concerns over Pakistan’s complicity in fostering terrorism.
