British-Pakistani to lose UK citizenship

A 30-year-old Pakistani-origin man in the UK who works for an Islamist media group in Syria is set to lose his British citizenship for being a "risk to the

national security".

Akif Razaq's family in Birmingham received a notice warning of the action by the UK Home Office. The notice states that an assessment has confirmed that he "is aligned with an al-Qaeda aligned group" and that his return would "present a risk to the national security of the United Kingdom". He will become the first person since 2015 to be deprived of his citizenship after the notice, seen by The Times, arrived on May 24.

"I was shocked, surprised and intrigued," Razaq told the newspaper via the encrypted messaging service Telegram.

"I have never seen myself as a threat to my home country and it surprised me that others would see me so. I would have thought that a solid case was required to deprive me of citizenship," he said, adding that he plans to appeal against the order. Razaq first travelled to Syria with an aid convoy

in 2013. Two years later, he joined On The Ground News (OGN), a media organisation founded by Bilal Abdul Kareem, a US citizen and Muslim convert. AGENCIES