Mob besieges Pak daily's office again for terming London Bridge attacker 'man of Pakistani origin'

For the second time in a week, nearly 100 protesters on Friday besieged the office of a Pakistani newspaper, chanting slogans against the organisation and setting copies of its editions on fire, for publishing a news report in which the London Bridge attacker was identified as a "man of Pakistani origin".

The Dawn newspaper in its headline had identified Usman Khan, a convicted Islamist terrorist from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who stabbed two people to death in a terror attack on London Bridge on November 29, as "UK national of Pakistani origin, unlike many other local dailies which said he was born and brought up in Britain and had no link with Pakistan.

Nearly 100 people arrived in vans and gathered outside the newspaper's office and besieged Dawn's Islamabad bureau the second time this week and chanted slogans against the media group and set copies of the newspaper on fire, the paper reported.

Police arrived at the scene but the protesters dispersed on their own after about 40 minutes, it said.

"Yet another orchestrated demo against Dawn outside its office in Islamabad. Same lot, threatening tone, bigger in number & have blocked entrance. We have informed police & have told them it's their duty to protect our staff & property. Let's hope someone from govt will intervene!!" Dawn Editor Zaffar Abbas tweeted.

"They have just dispersed after burning some copies of Dawn," Abbas said, adding, "Everyone has a right to protest as long as they are not violent."