Applause for Pakistan Delegation's Rejection of U.S. Abuse
"One
welcomes the stance a Pakistani military delegation took after it was subjected
to inappropriate behavior by U.S. security officials at Dulles International
Airport - merely because some passenger found their conversation 'suspicious.' …
It's high time that the military realize America is not an ally, but a hostile
state that needs Pakistan."
Pakistan Defense Secretary Syed Athar Ali demanded and recieved an apology from the Pentagon for 'the mistreatment meted out to Pakistan's military delegation at the Dulles airport.'
Like so many other segments
of the state and leadership, after passively and regularly accepting abuse from
the U.S. since 9-11 under the pretext of security, the Pakistan military has
finally chosen to reject such treatment - and it's about time. That's why one
welcomes the stance a Pakistani military delegation took after it was subjected
to inappropriate
behavior by U.S. security officials at Dulles International Airport -
merely because some passenger found their conversation “suspicious.”
The delegation simply
cancelled its meeting with CENTCOM
and returned home. Of course, the usual apologies were offered by the U.S.
Department of Defense, but what use are apologies once Pakistanis have been
insulted? Whatever the official position, Pakistanis are being singled out for
abuse by the United States. After all, this was an official delegation going on
an official visit, so where was the official protocol we turn out every time
any U.S. official visits Pakistan?
Meanwhile, what do we do with
American nationals travelling to and residing in Pakistan? We give them visas
on demand and allow them to ride roughshod over all of our laws - even when
they injure and kill Pakistani citizens on our streets. We provide them with
extra access and allow them to bypass our normal security procedures when they
travel, as witnessed by many Pakistani travelers at our airports. Were we at
our airports to report every U.S. citizen as “suspicious,” it would provide the
Americans with a good lesson in terms of reciprocity - that is, if our
authorities ever find the guts to take a nationalist position.
It is high time that the
military realize America is not an ally, but a hostile state that needs
Pakistan, particularly at the moment, militarily. To pander to U.S. objectives
is debilitating for our own national security. And regardless of the personal relationship
between Chief of Army Staff Kayani and U.S. military leaders, there's a need to
distance ourselves from the U.S. and its increasingly questionable agenda in the
region - especially its underlying relationship with India.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Nor is it only U.S. citizens who
are given privileges Pakistanis don't enjoy in those countries. We just had an
official Danish delegation arrive with two journalists who were earlier
deported from Pakistan due to suspicious activities and were blacklisted
from ever entering Pakistan again. But under pressure from the Danish
government, Pakistani authorities undermined their own laws and actions and
allowed the two controversial figures to reenter.
This echoes the case of an
American journalist posing as a scholar who was deported for suspicious
activities in Baluchistan and then given a visa to visit Pakistan again. As
their governments and nationals mistreat and abuse our nationals as they please,
it's no wonder that foreigners feel they can abuse our laws and decisions. In
this context, the action of the military delegation must be appreciated. The
more important question is, when we will reciprocate in kind?
