Threats to Dutch envoy’s life flagged

Hardline TLP party said to be planning attack over Wilders’ blasphemous cartoon contest

The Netherlands said yesterday that its ambassador to Pakistan has faced “threats”, reportedly from Islamists angry over anti-Islam tweets by the far-right politician Geert Wilders.

Wilders in August called off a planned Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) cartoon competition that stirred anger in Pakistan, but the MP has since posted several such images on Twitter.

“We are dealing with threats to the ambassador’s address,” a Dutch foreign ministry spokesman told AFP. “We take the security of the embassy very seriously, and that is also the subject of consultations between the Netherlands and Pakistan. For security reasons, I cannot make any further comment.”

Pakistan’s interior ministry last month wrote a secret memo on plans to “target” the Dutch ambassador by the hardline Islamist Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan party (TLP), media from both countries reported.

The TLP led protests in August calling for Pakistan to sever diplomatic ties with The Netherlands over the Wilders’ cartoon contest.

“It has been reported that elements associated with Tehreeke-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) are planning to target [the] Dutch ambassador... to seek revenge for uploading of blasphemous caricatures by Geert Wilders, Dutch parliamentarian, on his personal Twitter account,” the memo said.

The Pakistani interior ministry and Dutch embassy declined to comment. The TLP denied making any threats.

However, he said the group “demand the Dutch government expel Wilders from their parliament and if they don’t do so, the government of Pakistan should dismiss the Dutch ambassador from Pakistan”.