FO condemns ‘increasingly racist, Islamophobic’ comments on Pakistanis in UK

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday condemned what it called “increasingly racist and Islamophobic” commentary directed at the Pakistani diaspora in the United Kingdom (UK).

This was stated by FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan during a weekly press briefing in Islamabad.

His remarks came after billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Elon Musk sparked debate about “Asian grooming gangs”, specifically targeting the Pakistani community in the UK.

Musk has been actively targeting the incumbent UK government, accusing it of protecting the “grooming gangs.” He also labelled UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer a “rape genocide apologist” and demanded his imprisonment on X.

Things got more complicated when Priyanka Chaturvedi, a leader of India’s Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena demanded that these gangs be called “Pakistani grooming games”, and not “ASIAN grooming gangs”. Musk replied to her tweet “true,” showing his support for her remarks.

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During the press briefing today, Shafqat Ali Khan denounced the growing anti-Pakistani discourse observed in the UK.

“As such, we note with deep concern the increasingly racist and Islamophobic political and media commentary in the UK that is aimed at conflating the reprehensible actions of a few individuals with the entire 1.7 million British Pakistani diaspora.”

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He added that the friendship between the two countries was characterised by warmth, cordiality, robust cooperation and trust. “Nurtured over decades this relationship remains an important priority of Pakistan’s foreign policy,” he said.

Shafqat highlighted how British Pakistanis have contributed to the United Kingdom’s growth, development and, indeed, freedom.

“An exceptionally large number of predominantly Muslim soldiers from what is now Pakistan served in the British Indian army and laid down their lives for the cause of democracy in both World Wars,” he said.

Today, British Pakistanis are the backbone of the UK’s health, retail and services sectors.

“Many British Pakistanis hold high public office, and thousands serve their communities as Members of Parliament, mayors, councillors, and members of local police and municipal services. British Pakistanis have excelled in sports and arts. Their cuisine and music enrich British culture,” the FO spokesperson noted.

To demonise such a large and diverse community on the basis of the actions of a few individuals needs to be condemned, he added.