Sources in the defence ministry told The Express Tribune that Michelle Flournoy, US Under Secretary of State for Defence called Pakistan’s Secretary Defence Lt Gen (retired) Syed Athar Ali to apologise for the incident that had strained relations between the two countries at military level.
An eight-member high-powered military delegation had cancelled an official trip to the US after authorities there humiliated members of the delegation.
The US security officials detained a brigadier at Washington’s Dulles Airport on a complaint by a passenger who said he did not feel safe sharing the flight with the delegation, reports said.
Lt-Gen (retd) Syed Athar Ali expressed serious concern over the incident and emphasised the need for an institutionalised mechanism where such happenings could be averted.
Ms Flournoy assured the secretary defence that all necessary measures will be institutionalised after mutual consultations to avoid recurrence of any untoward incident in the future.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd, 2010.
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