Charles told to cancel "monstrous" Pakistan visit
Prince Charles being urged to cancel goodwill trip to Pakistan
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Wednesday, 18, Oct 2006 01:10
Prince Charles is being urged to cancel his goodwill trip to Pakistan at the end of this month as it will coincide with the planned execution of a British man.
The Prince of Wales and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, are due to fly to Pakistan on October 29th for a week-long tour after a personal invite by the country's prime minister Shaukat Aziz.
However, the schedule means the royals will be in the country when Mirza Tahir Hussain, a 36-year-old originally from Leeds, will be executed for the murder of taxi driver Jamshed Khan 18 years ago. He is due to be hanged on November 1st.
Leeds Lib Dem MP Greg Mulholland has written to Prince Charles claiming that his presence in Pakistan while Hussain is executed would be a "monstrous" occurrence.
In quotes carried by the Press Association, Mr Mulholland said: "For this unjust execution to go ahead anyway would be bad enough, but to do this when Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, is visiting the country would be monstrous."
He added: "I would urge His Royal Highness to cancel his visit if this terrible miscarriage of justice, the state murder of a man from Leeds, is scheduled to go ahead at that time. Cancelling the visit will send a clear and powerful message to the Pakistani authorities."
Speaking at prime minister's questions this morning, Mr Mulholland again described the sentence of Hussain as a "gross miscarriage of justice" and requested Tony Blair's support in the debate.
Mr Blair said he was reluctant to comment on the royal visit but he did admit he had raised the subject of the planned execution constantly with Pakistan's authorities and the country's president Pervez Musharraf.
The prime minister added: "I hope even at this stage that there is an intervention to make sure this does not take place. It would be very serious if it does.
"There is a limit to what the president can do but we will continue to make requests right up until the last minute."
Although Clarence House has not responded to the calls, a statement released last week explained: "The main aims of the tour are to support the breadth of the partnership between the UK and Pakistan, and to highlight the shared heritage and community links between the two nations.
"The specific themes of the visit will be inter-faith issues; education and youth entrepreneurship; and sustainable development."