ISLAMABAD: Shehzad Akbar, a former accountability adviser and a prominent figure in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has claimed that he was attacked in the UK. He said that a man came up to him and hit him in the face several times, which caused his nose to break.
Akbar is supposed to be getting treated in a hospital right now. This accusation, however, is bringing forth the issue of credibility as it bears resemblance to a claim made by him before that was badly criticized for being without proof. About sixteen months ago, Akbar made a statement that an attacker had splashed acid on him near his flat in the UK.
At the same time, there was no visible damage to him, and only his glasses showed some marks that were claimed to be caused by acid. In fact, the British police scrutinized the whole thing but then declared that they were not able to verify the acid attack and thus had to shut down the inquiry. Still, Akbar didn’t give up on his claim that the situation really did happen.
The timing of Akbar’s new allegation has cast more suspicion on him, especially when it so happens that the Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has just returned from the UK, and there is gossip about PTI-related YouTubers and vloggers coming back to Pakistan. These people are thought to be in trouble legally in Pakistan, and some reports claim that the government is facilitating their repatriation.
However, critics argue that Akbar’s tale might be part of a larger scenario aimed at diverting attention from these legal and political issues. Besides, Akbar is already in the middle of corruption allegations in Pakistan which range from accepting illegal money from real estate mogul Malik Riaz to being involved in other shady deals. A video that supposedly shows Akbar confessing to taking money for corrupt purposes has only made the whole issue surrounding him more controversial.
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