Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Dutch prosecutor wants 12-year term for former Pakistan cricketer

Dutch public prosecutors said Khalid Latif, 37, who remains in Pakistan, had offered €21,000 (£18,284) in an online video from 2018 in which he called for Geert Wilders' killing

Dutch prosecutor wants 12-year term for former Pakistan cricketer

A FORMER Pakistani international cricketer went on trial last Tuesday (29) in the Netherlands for allegedly attempting to incite the murder of anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, with prosecutors demanding a 12-year sentence if convicted.

Dutch public prosecutors said Khalid Latif, 37, who remains in Pakistan, had offered €21,000 (£18,284) in an online video from 2018 in which he called for Wilders’ killing.


The outspoken Dutch MP at the time cancelled a competition for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed after angry demonstrations broke out, particularly in Pakistan, and the far-right politician was inundated with death threats.

“Latif tried to move others to murder Mr Wilders and to avenge the cartoon contest,” prosecutor FA Kuipers told the judges. “Not only was his goal to end a human life with violence, but with his appeal he tried to silence a Dutch representative,”

she said at a court hearing, held at a high security courthouse near Schiphol airport.

“Calling for a murder to prevent the cartoon competition and offering a sum of money to kill the organiser of that competition, should be very severely punished as far as the Public Prosecution is concerned,” Kuipers added, before asking for a 12-year sentence.

Neither Latif, nor any lawyer were present in the courtroom.

DP Latif Khalid GettyImages 661421216 Khalid Latif

The Pakistani embassy in The Hague had no comment directly after the hearing and Latif could not be immediately reached for comment.

Kuipers said prosecutors have tried since 2018 to speak to the cricketer and handed over a request to Islamabad for legal assistance, to no avail.

The Netherlands does not have a treaty regarding legal assistance with Pakistan, she said.

“The questions we have for Latif remain unanswered,” Kuipers said. Wilders, who was in court during the hearing, told the judges death threats on his life increased after his plans to stage the controversial cartoon competition. Known for his firebrand comments about Islam, Wilders has been under 24-hour state protection since 2004.

“Whatever you find of the cartoon competition, there is no reason to put a price of death on somebody’s head for it,” Wilders said. Addressing Latif personally, Wilders, known for his peroxide bouffant hairdo, said “your call to have me murdered will never silence me”.

But at the time, the plan to stage the contest received widespread criticism at home, with politicians, local media and ordinary citizens slamming the idea as needlessly antagonising Muslims. Latif’s call resonated in the real world, Kuipers said.

A Dutch court in 2019 sentenced a Pakistani man to 10 years in prison for plotting to assassinate Wilders in the wake of the cancelled contest.

The man, identified as Junaid I, was arrested in 2018 at a train station in The Hague after he posted a film on Facebook in which he said he wanted to “send Wilders to hell” and urged others to help.

The verdict is due to be handed down on September 11. Latif, 37, who played five oneday internationals and 13 T20Is for Pakistan, was banned from cricket for five years in 2017 for spot-fixing in a Pakistan Super League match in Dubai.

He showed early promise, but failed to make an impact at the international level.

More For You

Harry and Meghan urge tougher safeguards to protect children online

Prince Harry criticised tech companies for citing privacy laws to deny access

Getty

Harry and Meghan urge tougher safeguards to protect children online

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have called for stronger protections for children online, warning that not enough is being done to shield young people from the dangers of social media

During a visit to New York, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle unveiled a new memorial dedicated to the memory of children whose families believe harmful online content contributed to their deaths. The installation, named the Lost Screen Memorial, features 50 smartphones, each displaying an image of a child lost to what their families describe as the adverse effects of social media. The memorial was made available to the public for 24 hours.

Keep ReadingShow less
Afghan exodus soars as Pakistan deadline nears

Afghan refugees arrive at a camp near the Torkham border last Sunday (20)

Afghan exodus soars as Pakistan deadline nears

MORE than 100,000 Afghans have left Pakistan in the past three weeks, the interior ministry said on Tuesday (22), after Islamabad announced the cancellation of residence permits.

Calling Afghans “terrorists and criminals”, the Pakistan government launched its mass eviction campaign on April 1. Analysts said the expulsions are designed to pressure Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, which Islamabad blames for fuelling a rise in border attacks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Government announces funding for offshore wind supply chains

Energy secretary Ed Miliband reads a letter from Britain's King Charles III during the Future of Energy Security Summit at Lancaster House on April 24, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Tallis - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Government announces funding for offshore wind supply chains

THE government has announced an initial £300 million investment to strengthen domestic offshore wind supply chains ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review. The funding will be distributed through Great British Energy, the country's publicly-owned clean energy company.

Prime minister Keir Starmer on Thursday (24) said the investment aims to support jobs and help the UK reach clean power by 2030.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-pahalgam-getty

'I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,' Modi said in his first speech since the incident.

Getty Images

Modi vows to hunt Kashmir attackers ‘to the ends of the Earth’

INDIA and Pakistan have exchanged a series of diplomatic measures after prime minister Narendra Modi blamed Pakistan for a deadly shooting in Pahalgam, Kashmir, in which 26 civilians were killed.

Modi said India would identify and punish those behind the attack and accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump

Trump also announced an initiative on historically black colleges and universities and signed orders on AI education and workforce development.

Getty Images

Trump signs orders targeting university diversity policies and accreditation

DONALD TRUMP signed a set of executive orders on Wednesday aimed at US universities, focusing on foreign donations, college accreditation, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

One order directs the federal government to enforce existing laws requiring universities to disclose large foreign gifts. Another addresses accreditation, which Trump has described as a “secret weapon.”

Keep ReadingShow less