Security officials briefly stopped American vehicles in the limits of the Peshawar Cantonment on Monday. However, they were allowed to go after some time, sources said.
Some American officials were returning to the US Consulate and a couple of them were filming the area when they were stopped at a checkpoint near Khalid Bin Walid Park. They were driving the same vehicles which had dodged police on the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway to enter the city earlier.
A statement from the US Consulate on Monday however rubbished all reports of Americans dodging law enforcement agencies or taking refuge inside the consulate. It was stated that US officials were travelling from Islamabad to Peshawar on official business and had an approved No Objection Certificate from Pakistan’s General Headquarters for the trip.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2011.
COMMENTS (26)
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This thing has ended. The Americans do not need ay NOC any more. they can move without any objection. The four Americans held were returning from a meeting held with a high military official. Now, i dont know what was the purpose behind stopping these Americans right in front of the US Consulate at such a time when relations between Pakistan and the United States seem to be already stressed in condition????
@Bilafond:
Yep Pakistan is not Syria!! Just worst.
This harassement of diplomats is illegal under Geneva Conventions.
The Americans showed valid paperwork to the ISI and police on scene, it was shown briefly on the tv. That is why they let them leave. However, the act of ambushing unarmed, cleared diplomats with media and heavily armed police should be in question. What other country in the world tolerate these kind of hostile actions?
Any one else notice that this took place on the military's cantonment area? Why did the military allow this to happen when the American military advisers are there supporting the Pakistani military's operations? The Pakistani military knows that these Americans are cleared, they are the ones who approve their NOCs.
Cautious: Apropos petty harrassment. Its nothing against the harrasment muslims has to endure at US airports because of their muslim names.
@Ishrat Salim
But why does the Americans choose to visit Peshawar / KP only....?? diplomats are FREE but these Anmericans are not diplomats in who carries sophisticated weapons & electronic gadgets / GPS etc & communication system working on unapproved frequencies...?? there is a lot to restrict their activities...otherwise the frequency of suicide & bomb attacks will increase.....analyse the frequency from the day of Raymond till today...??
No news that the americans are rejecting this report. Initially they always reject....
But why were the americans filming in the cantt. area? I am sure they know photography/filming is prohibited in all cantonments.
Pakistan is the only country in the world who restricts diplomats in such fashion. Congratulations for breaking all diplomatic conventions. You even beat North Korea! But ill-placed ghairat will make a man (nation) do all sorts of foolish things...
The question shouldn't be why there is movement of Embassy officials between Islamabad and Peshawar -- that's ridiculous and has happened for years. It's just some of you are ignorant of it until it makes the news! The real question should be: "What exactly is Pakistan HIDING in KP or other places???" If nothing to hide, then no reason to restrict. You restrict at your borders with visa approvals or denials!
Some people's egos are so bloated they can no longer access their brains to think!!
Cautious@ Pakistan is not Syria ...
Some of the other posters here sound impressively ignorant.
How many of the- - very inisghtful and intelligent- - readers of this website regularly drive In Peshawar? Or even on the M-1 or in Islamabad?
Checkpoint cops confuse me with their hand waving almost everyday. Signals seem different based on the Cop, time of day. There is no standard, I can see how foreigners would become confused.
We should be grateful these diplomats risk harrassment/ridicule/death to come to the far reaches of KPk. Some places wouldn't survive without foreign aid money/ programs.
Stop them it's your Right...........End
Pakistan is in violation of Vienna Convention.
Pakistan must keep so called diplomats closely watched over and reduce their presence in the country to a minimal. Otherwise, it is likely to cause very serious consequences for Pakistan.
No one should hesitate to link up the chain of movement of such American spies in Pakistan in a specific area just before the happening of a fatal acts of terrorism i.e a major bomb blast in Peshawar or in the surrounding areas.
In short, the United States of America is totally unreliable so called friend of Pakistan which secretly has been maintaining quite an aggressive policy aiming to drag Pakistan to such an unstable state that a snatch of its nuclear weapons can be justified. Pakistanis should not be surprised to know that the USA wants to Break the federation of Pakistan to achieve the long standing plans of Israel as well as India.
We Pakistanis are independent and rightly so it's our human right to self defence. And to do we must keep the spy elements out of our lands at any cost and no matter under what face or cover our enemy hides. Which is absolutely necessary to seize modern colonialism and the game of "divide (break) and rule".
@Cautious: S is welcome to restrict Pak diplomats. Pak will not have anything to lose by that. On the other hand...................
BTW, if you ar an america, how much do you people owe to Chian? That being the case, how come you do not bow down to them and yet you expect that from those you have lent to ( by using China's money)?
lastly..............there is a word that I would like to share. It is called "Hubris"...........
@Cautious: You are another Mirza.
@Cautious: And why exactly are you itchy? They were not being stopped in the past 64 years but there must be a reason we are stopping someone from going to a particular place ... and there must be a reason that they are jumping to go to Peshawar every second day despite the restrictions. If the United States ask diplomats to avoid one of its city I bet not a single diplomat will ever try to force enter that city. And we are not stopping them but have asked them to simply follow a law which requires them to take No Objection Certificate before going there, then why are they trying to go without it? How would you feel if US 'diplomats' start boarding flights to India without a visa ? or on a visa which has already expired? US is getting in to a habit of forcing things now whether its going to Peshawar without NoCs or forcing to send their 'trainers' even if we say we don't need them.
An image of the vehicle used to be available on the internet. The image clearly showed a GHQ memorandum stating the NOC expiration was 21AUG. That means the NOC was good while the US officials traveled on the M-1 yesterday.
If the americans truly don't need a NOC to travel in Peshawar, then they're really not doing anything wrong. The NOC date is proof of that. too bad it's no longer available online.
Why US diplomats, nay, gun-toting diplomats keep flouting our laws? How would they treat a Pakistani if he didn't stop at a check posts in US? Later our ambassador would say they were not stopped but were just 'waved at'. All I can say is 'with friends like you who needs....'. Btw, what interest US has developed in Peshawar that its citizens, diplomats etc. often found breaking all laws to get there?
At least get your facts straight. The NOC is only for movements between Islamabad and Peshawar. It is only good for one trip, there and back. The Americans were returning to Peshawar, they had an approved NOC dated for 20-21 Aug. At the Motorway checkpoint on 21 Aug they were not stopped but waived through to continue to Peshawar.
Within Peshawar there is no requirement for a NOC. The Americans were illegally detained on a roadway today as a media stunt.
It's time the USA to retaliate to this petty harassment. For starters -- they should restrict Pakistani diplomats just like they did to Syrian diplomats when Syria started harassing USA diplomats. Restrictions on individuals remitting funds from the USA to Pakistan are worth considering as well as a review of import policies of Pakistani goods. Two can play this game and if America chooses it can play this game rather well.
Question is? why they are so desperate to get into peshawar every other day???. & why everytime these are always Americans?? explains a lot !
I thought this issue was resolved and NOC was no longer needed by diplomats only identification ?
lol @ "the US nationals were not signalled to stop, but were being waved at"
something doesnt add up here!
Good for the security personnel. All foreigners should respect the laws of the land. Imagine if foreigners were running about the US like this. Would they tolerate it? And I'm not talking about the millions of illegal Mexicans who live there but if a foreign governments intelligence personnel were operating without valid papers I am pretty sure they would be rounded up quickly. Allies or not, they should follow the regulations of Pakistan.