Former (Pak)navy chief humiliated by US visa officials

Former navy chief humiliated by US visa officials

ISLAMABAD: Admiral (r) Fasih Bokhari, former Pakistan Navy chief, on Thursday walked out of the US Embassy’s visa section to protest the humiliating security check Pakistanis were subjected to.

“I wanted to visit my daughter, who is in America, but I don’t need a US visa at the cost of the country’s dignity,” said Bokhari after he and his wife were asked by the embassy staff to go through “an insulting and unduly repeated body search”. The former naval chief told Daily Times, “I possess an official passport and my documents were sent to the US Embassy by the Pakistan Navy’s Protocol Officer, but even then they treated me in an insulting manner, which means that their treatment of ordinary Pakistanis must be more insulting.” Bokhari said he had satisfied all prescribed security requirements without any reluctance, but the embassy staff wanted to conduct further security checks and he walked out after registering his protest. “It seemed this strict security is not for the sake of security, but to humiliate Pakistanis,” he added. He said an embassy insider told him that even former prime minister Zafarullah Jamali had to undergo this experience to get a US visa, which prompted him to say, “I must ask the US ambassador to take notice of this procedure because it is a matter of Pakistan’s prestige.” staff report