London transport authority apologises to Pakistan over ads

Activists carried ‘Free Balochistan’ promos on buses, taxis

Naela Quadri Baloch, president of World Baloch Women’s Forum, addressing a press conference in Mumbai. (FILE)

Activists say they will continue with efforts to maintain their #FreeBalochistan campaign on London transport, after details of a letter from the Transport for London (TFL) to the Pakistan High Commission emerged, in which the transport authority apologised over the controversy.

Earlier this week, the TFL said it would remove the #FreeBalochistan adverts, promoted by the World Balochistan Organisation, from buses in London on the grounds that it did not meet with their advertising policy. In the November 14 letter to the Pakistan High Commission in London, made public by the WBO, the TFL cited their policy on not carrying adverts on matters of “public controversy and sensitivity”. Previously, the TFL had ordered the removal of Free Balochistan adverts on the side of black cabs. They also ordered the removal of billboards as part of the same campaign that were on the TFL’s estate.

Taxis that had carried the adverts had been issued with “unfit” notices, and would only be able to carry passengers again once the taxis were inspected by the TFL testing centres, the letter promises. The TFL also apologised for the failure that resulted in the adverts not being brought to their attention before they were put up, as well as the delay in replying to two letters sent from the Deputy High Commissioner for Pakistan in London, following which action was taken.

Legal action

Bhawal Mengal, the WBO’s spokesperson, condemned the TFL’s approach, pointing to the fact that the WBO had suggested amended versions of the campaign, which had also been turned down. Further amended versions have been submitted to the TFL, he told

The Hindu . Should the amended versions not be accepted, the group would mull legal action, as they believed the grounds on which the TFL had suspended the campaign were weak.

He also highlighted the 10 to 12 billboards that remain dotted around the capital for the next few weeks. Alongside the #Free Balochistan slogan, others displayed during the campaign said “Save the Baloch” and “Stop Enforced Disappearances.”

Mr. Mengal said the campaign’s ambition was not to force anyone to “take our word for the situation” but to prompt an awareness raising campaign. “We are saying to people simply look into the issue Balochistan.”

Last month, Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua had summoned the British High Commissioner Thomas Drew to convey their “serious concern” that the adverts on the cabs represented a direct attack on Pakistan’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty”.