A British man from Peterborough has been shot dead by Pakistani security forces in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while a second Briton remains imprisoned in the region despite months of family appeals to the Foreign Office.
Peterborough man killed during Kashmir protests
Mohammad Akhtar, a 50-year-old British national from Peterborough, was shot dead during clashes between security forces and protesters in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. His death has prompted urgent questions about the level of consular protection available to British citizens caught up in unrest overseas, and about how quickly the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office acts when a UK passport holder is killed or detained abroad.
Akhtar was among many British Kashmiris with deep family ties to the region, where thousands of UK households — particularly in Birmingham, Bradford, Luton and Peterborough — maintain homes, land and relatives. That connection means unrest in Kashmir is never a purely foreign story for Britain; it is felt directly in British towns and cities.
A second Briton held for months
Compounding the family’s distress is the case of another British national who has been held in a regional prison for more than two months. His relatives say repeated approaches to the Foreign Office have produced little more than acknowledgements, and that they have struggled to obtain basic information about the charges against him or his condition in custody.
Consular assistance in Pakistan-administered Kashmir is complicated by the region’s contested status and administrative structures, which can slow or obstruct access by UK diplomats. Campaign groups argue this is precisely why the Foreign Office needs a clearer protocol for the territory rather than treating each case as an exception.
What the protests are about
The demonstrations that preceded the shooting have been driven largely by economic grievances: the cost of electricity and flour, taxation, and a long-standing demand that locally generated hydropower should benefit local residents first. Rights groups have repeatedly criticised the use of live ammunition against crowds, warning that heavy-handed policing has turned civil protests into deadly confrontations.
Pressure on the UK government
MPs representing constituencies with large British Kashmiri populations are expected to press ministers for a full account of what the Foreign Office knew, when it was informed, and what representations have been made to Islamabad. Families in similar cases have long argued that Britain applies inconsistent pressure depending on the country involved — vocal in some detentions, quiet in others.
For the Akhtar family, the immediate concerns are practical and painful: repatriation of the body, an independent account of how he died, and any prospect of accountability. Post-mortem findings and access to the investigation will be central, and both depend on cooperation that UK officials cannot compel.
The broader lesson for British travellers
The case is a reminder that dual-heritage British citizens visiting family abroad can find themselves in a legal grey zone, where local authorities may not recognise a UK claim to consular access. Travel advice for the region already warns of the risk of sudden unrest — but advice is little comfort to a family in Peterborough now waiting for answers.
Source: Guardian World – original report
Source: Original report. Rewrite for Your News Website.
