Balochistan

Swiss citizen taken into custody in Balochistan

Swiss Citizen "Merko" entered Balochistan from Iran and aimed to travel to Punjab by road through Loralai.

Express February 27, 2011

QUETTA: A Swiss citizen has been taken into custody for travelling in Loralai district of Balochistan without a No Objection Certificate (NOC).

According to Express 24/7, Swiss Citizen "Merko" entered Balochistan from Iran and aimed to travel to Punjab by road through Loralai. Levies Force took the Swiss citizen into custody for not having an NOC from Balochistan's Home Department. He has been shifted to Quetta for necessary interrogation regarding travelling along Loralai route without NOC.

Secretary of Home and Tribal Affairs, Akbar Hussain Durrani told Express 24/7 that the Swiss Citizen was travelling through an area of the province where an NOC is necessary for any foreigner.

The detainment of the Swiss citizen follows the recent arrest of an American national in Peshawar, who is thought to have been working for a private security company, after he outstayed his Pakistani visa.

The US embassy in Islamabad identified the man arrested on Friday as Aaron Mark DeHaven.

The purpose of the visit by DeHaven, whose visa expired in December last year, was unclear but a security official told AFP he had been working with private security agency Catalyst in Islamabad.

COMMENTS (24)

NIDA | 13 years ago | Reply any updates

Peter | 13 years ago | Reply @Khalid Rahim: Dear Khalid, When I was detained, not even the policeman in charge of the command post (in Baluchistan) was sure on how to obtain an NOC - he called Quetta many times and spoke to numerous government officials before deciding that any application would need to be made from Karachi. I must repeat that on the day in question, everyone that I came into contact with, while being detailed, (by detailed I mean having a lovely lunch with senior officials) was exceptionally friendly and at all times behaved in a very professional manner.

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Ameer Hamza | 13 years ago | Reply Govt. of Pakistan strongly advises - and in very clear terms - all foreigners against travelling into troubled Balochistan, FATA region, border regions of Pak-India, Pak-Afghan and disputed territory of Kashmir without proper NOCs stamped by provincial offices of Home Department, as this dept. is known. And yet most of the goras think of it as their birth right to break Pakistani laws. They even collude with locals and take away priceless Gandhara pieces abroad. What non sense! Good job by our security establishment. Let us count more Amrikis and goras being caught doing things they shouldn't be trying. Let me tell all of them: This is not the Soviet era Pakistan anymore. So you better be careful. We are a friendly nation but we are at war and we mean business. We won't accept any nonsense and the case of Davis is for all to see.

Abdul Qayyum Bhatti | 13 years ago | Reply He must be questioned thoroughly.

James Bond | 13 years ago | Reply When these guys go out, they even have information about what sort of weather will be at what time. So, the guy must be thoroughly questioned. CIA is showing that they are very active to trace Taliban/Quetta Shura on Pakistani soil and then they will have plea to launch ground offensive on Pakistani soil. Guys you may remember few days back when Americans were boasting about the presence of Mulla Muhammad Omar in Quetta which they name as Quetta Shura. Now US wanted to start a war in Pakistani border areas with such a plea as they said about "Weapons of Mass Destruction" in Iraq. There are many Gora operatives working in these areas to trace a clue of presence of Taliban in Baluchistan.

Khalid Rahim | 13 years ago | Reply @Peter: The Home Secretary issues the NOC after getting clearance about the applicant from the EYE agencies working in the provinces. Our former dictator made Pakistan the game board to play the Hunter and the Hunted.

Aamir Ali | 13 years ago | Reply now every gora is being persecuted in Pakistan under suspicion they are "CIA agents". Pakistanis are immature nation.

Iftikhar-ur-Rehman | 13 years ago | Reply our Embassies give all the details to the tourists and then there is a thing called INTERNET. All information is available on the net .The gora tourists are very careful and would have known about the requirement of NOC. But the gora who is not a tourist does not care about law of the land. These guys should not be let off without thorough investigation.

Peter | 13 years ago | Reply @Alick: From my experience, an NOC for a Western tourist to travel to Balochistan is not the easiest thing to obtain - and very few people know how to obtain one.

Khalid Rahim | 13 years ago | Reply We still follow the 1923 secret act posted on the railway bridges. Anyone found taking photos of this bridge will be prosecuted under official secrets act of 1923? Little do our Havard and Oxford graduated bureaucrats know that for the last fifty years there are satellites taking photogragh of them as they stand near a wall or bush to empty their bladder. Except that satellite has to apply to the provincial Home Secretary for the NOC to photograph an abandoned bridge enroute to DG Khan from Loralai.

SH | 13 years ago | Reply An NOC? That's regressive and retarded.

Mir | 13 years ago | Reply How would I know what an LOC is? I could backpack straight into India with a couple of my friends. Please please dont call me an antangvadi. Next thing I know all taxi drivers in US will say that they dont understand what a green card is.

Tourist or Swiss Agent | 13 years ago | Reply @ Tight Dhoti - maybe you need to loosen up because normal "Western" tourists do not visit Iran and then travel overland into Pakistan...

hero | 13 years ago | Reply Our govt issued visas to CIA Agents in huge numbers and now they have been well settled in between us. Whole world knows their dirty tricks to control a country but our leaders are very clever to do corruption but not so clever to run the country. When their rule will finish, peoples will find them living abroad in their newly bought houses.They are selling us and also our freedom and yet call them the leaders, SHAME on you.

Nazir Habib | 13 years ago | Reply With a war on terror on our hands, CIA spies involved with terrorists in dubious activities being caught, problems on the Eastern and Wesrtern fronts, suicide attacks aimed at killing and maiming innocent civilians, destabilize the country and spread panic, drone attacks and the list goes on. Discretion being the better part of valor, the Swiss national should have exercised his prudence and sought advice from the Pak embassy before traversing the deserts and prairies and then attempting to go off romping into the mountains. Whether it's tourism or spying, after the extremely embarrasing Raymond Davis affair, the GoP is on the backfoot and we civilians are all 'fired up'. Where can you go if your country sinks deeper into the morass it already is in. Salams for 2011 and ever.

Peter | 13 years ago | Reply I was once detained in while traveling in Balochistan - I was traveling from Karachi to Ormara for a holiday. I was detained briefly by the Army before being handed over to a senior police officer. While at a local police command post I was treated like a celebrity (provided with lunch and had conversations with senior government officials etc.) before being given multiple police escorts (sirens and armed police) back to the Sindh border. Although I never got the opportunity to visit Ormara, I had a wonderful day while in Balochistan and was at all times treated with the upmost of respect. P

Roflcopter | 13 years ago | Reply Too early to say whether he's just a tourist or an agent etc. Just wait and see.

AA | 13 years ago | Reply Completely disagree with the comments. Why would a random tourist want to Loralai of off all the places !!

Faraz | 13 years ago | Reply @Shiraz... Please know before you comment. @Tightdhoti: When such people can know their constitution by heart, they should also be aware of the formalities required to fulfill before entering any sovereign country.. @Editor Express Tribune: I think you should start playing an active role as recently I have been reading comments that are really though provoking. At least TRIBUNE MUST NOT promote anti-state sentiments and sensor such comments that do not translate the masses vision Please let the Intelligence to their work. I think you guys are still sleeping and will only wake up when there will be no Pakistan!!! Pity on you all!

Alick | 13 years ago | Reply why these foreigners travelling without proper visa and incomplete documents in Pakistan...If we (Pakistanis) go outside especially in Europe they check our documents several times and in America the situation is worst. When Pakistan embassy stamps a visa they give the tourist complete information, even more than they need to know. Issuance of NOC from Baluchistan Govt. is not a big deal if you are a genuine Tourist not an Agent.

Babloo | 13 years ago | Reply Pakistan rounding up all 'goras'.

Uzair Javaid | 13 years ago | Reply Everyone in the world knows that crossing international border needs permissions and specially when the country has provinces, they are independent and have their home departments. This person might be another of the series of arrests now that took place. Aaron from Peshawar was arrested on charges of expired visa and yet again working for a security firm which is fishy, now this swiss guy might be another of such mercenaries in Pakistan.

TightDhoti | 13 years ago | Reply Why would someone from Switzerland know that he would need a NOC? Loralai is one the well established backpack trail from Iran across Pakistan and onwards to India. Before everyone starts on the secret agent-anti-Pakistan activities campaign lets get all the facts first.

shiraz | 13 years ago | Reply pakistan is now arresting thier tourists

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