Karamat advises Pakistanis against travel to US
Karamat advises Pakistanis against travel to US
FROM RANA FAWAD
WASHINGTON - Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, General (r) Jehangir Karamat has advised Pakistanis not to travel to the US these days unless their trip is very essential.
This he stated during an interview with The Nation at the Embassy of Pakistan on Monday while responding to questions regarding the situation faced by Pakistani-Americans as well as Pakistani visitors to the US after the London bombings.
He pointed out that there were already problems for Pakistanis after 9/11 because the US government was trying to create a balance between security and immigration issues to eliminate hassles for travellers at the airports. He mentioned that it was an ongoing process and the Pakistan’s Embassy was in constant contact with the US officials to achieve that balance as soon as possible but in the meanwhile another tragic incident occurred in the shape of the London bombings.
Referring to the current situation, the Ambassador explained, “The desired balance has not been achieved so far and the people still face difficulties at airports even if they possess legal visas. As compared to other nationals, they have to face investigation, especially those who are working across the Canadian border have to go through this situation every day.”
He said: “Events like 7/7 definitely influence the Embassy’s efforts, but they are continuously working to make sure that no body with valid documents is sent back from the airports. We’re working with the US Department of Homeland Security, State Department, etc., to secure that level of balance and are hopeful that at some point in the future, we’ll achieve that it.” He said in such circumstances the people should not travel to this country (US), if their visit could be avoided.
As for the factors contributing to Pakistan’s image at international level, Gen (r) Jehangir Karamat commented, “whatever statements appear in the Pakistani media do have enormous impact abroad when it comes to country’s image at international level.” He explicated, “Such things are quoted and read here and people think whatever is being said in Pakistan is true and that’s how they base their perception about our country.”
When asked, “does he think misconceptions about Pakistan do exist because of other factors as well”, he replied, “I haven’t come across a deliberate effort to malign Pakistan. As President Musharraf said that whenever something happens, directly or indirectly some connection to Pakistan comes up. I think it’s that factor which plays up and leads us to the perception that perhaps Pakistan is being targeted, or Pakistanis are being discriminated against. It’s not true.”
When asked, after Indian PM’s recent visit to the US, which has been termed as very successful, will President General Musharraf be able to secure similar defence ties with the US when he visits next month, Gen (R) Jehangir Karamat said, “President’s visit is of course to the UN and he’s been there before and each time it’s been extremely successful and positive visit.”
As for Mr Manmohan Singh’s visit, the Ambassador illustrated that his visit was a state visit by the PM of India and there were certain formalities attached to it including the banquet by the President, lunch by the Secretary of State, address to the join session of the Congress and Senate.
“I’d say it was a successful visit and he did a great job. We were never in the business of any negative work to create difficulties for PM Manmohan Singh, not that we could have done it, we have never wanted to do that just like they do not interfere with any of our visitors to this country,” he added.
To a question, when the Kashmiris could not get justice even through the valid UN resolutions passed by the international community, do they stand any chance of securing a just solution of the problem in some other way, Jehangir Karamat remarked, “It’s something that eventually has to be settled bilaterally between India and Pakistan. It has passed from many phases. Perhaps there was a phase when you could continue with conflict as well as hostility and hope that it would be resolved through that because India was not accepting the UN resolutions. And then perhaps there were considerations that Pakistan could be coerced or pressured into giving up its demand for Kashmir.”
FROM RANA FAWAD
WASHINGTON - Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, General (r) Jehangir Karamat has advised Pakistanis not to travel to the US these days unless their trip is very essential.
This he stated during an interview with The Nation at the Embassy of Pakistan on Monday while responding to questions regarding the situation faced by Pakistani-Americans as well as Pakistani visitors to the US after the London bombings.
He pointed out that there were already problems for Pakistanis after 9/11 because the US government was trying to create a balance between security and immigration issues to eliminate hassles for travellers at the airports. He mentioned that it was an ongoing process and the Pakistan’s Embassy was in constant contact with the US officials to achieve that balance as soon as possible but in the meanwhile another tragic incident occurred in the shape of the London bombings.
Referring to the current situation, the Ambassador explained, “The desired balance has not been achieved so far and the people still face difficulties at airports even if they possess legal visas. As compared to other nationals, they have to face investigation, especially those who are working across the Canadian border have to go through this situation every day.”
He said: “Events like 7/7 definitely influence the Embassy’s efforts, but they are continuously working to make sure that no body with valid documents is sent back from the airports. We’re working with the US Department of Homeland Security, State Department, etc., to secure that level of balance and are hopeful that at some point in the future, we’ll achieve that it.” He said in such circumstances the people should not travel to this country (US), if their visit could be avoided.
As for the factors contributing to Pakistan’s image at international level, Gen (r) Jehangir Karamat commented, “whatever statements appear in the Pakistani media do have enormous impact abroad when it comes to country’s image at international level.” He explicated, “Such things are quoted and read here and people think whatever is being said in Pakistan is true and that’s how they base their perception about our country.”
When asked, “does he think misconceptions about Pakistan do exist because of other factors as well”, he replied, “I haven’t come across a deliberate effort to malign Pakistan. As President Musharraf said that whenever something happens, directly or indirectly some connection to Pakistan comes up. I think it’s that factor which plays up and leads us to the perception that perhaps Pakistan is being targeted, or Pakistanis are being discriminated against. It’s not true.”
When asked, after Indian PM’s recent visit to the US, which has been termed as very successful, will President General Musharraf be able to secure similar defence ties with the US when he visits next month, Gen (R) Jehangir Karamat said, “President’s visit is of course to the UN and he’s been there before and each time it’s been extremely successful and positive visit.”
As for Mr Manmohan Singh’s visit, the Ambassador illustrated that his visit was a state visit by the PM of India and there were certain formalities attached to it including the banquet by the President, lunch by the Secretary of State, address to the join session of the Congress and Senate.
“I’d say it was a successful visit and he did a great job. We were never in the business of any negative work to create difficulties for PM Manmohan Singh, not that we could have done it, we have never wanted to do that just like they do not interfere with any of our visitors to this country,” he added.
To a question, when the Kashmiris could not get justice even through the valid UN resolutions passed by the international community, do they stand any chance of securing a just solution of the problem in some other way, Jehangir Karamat remarked, “It’s something that eventually has to be settled bilaterally between India and Pakistan. It has passed from many phases. Perhaps there was a phase when you could continue with conflict as well as hostility and hope that it would be resolved through that because India was not accepting the UN resolutions. And then perhaps there were considerations that Pakistan could be coerced or pressured into giving up its demand for Kashmir.”
posted by India News Watch at 2:55 PM
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