A Pakistani-origin British Labour peer has been suspended after allegedly claiming that he would put up a 10 million pounds bounty for the capture of US President Barack Obama and his predecessor President George W Bush.
Lord Ahmed, 53, who in 1998 became the first Muslim life peer, reportedly made the comments at a conference in Haripur in Pakistan.
A Labour Party spokesman condemned the remarks, calling then ‘unacceptable’.
According to a report in The Express Tribune, Lord Ahmed offered the bounty in response to a US announcement of a 10 million dollar reward for the capture of Pakistani militant leader Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who it suspects of orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
“If the US can announce a reward of 10 million dollars for the (capture) of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of 10 million dollars (for the capture of) President Obama and his predecessor, George Bush,” Lord Ahmed reportedly said.
According to The Telegraph, Lord Ahmed reportedly said he would arrange the bounty at any cost, even if he had to sell his own personal assets including his house.
Lord Ahmed, who was born in Pakistan, became Baron Ahmed of Rotherham at the age of 40.
According to the paper, in 2007 he was highly critical of the awarding of a knighthood to Salman Rushdie, claiming the author had ‘blood on his hands.’