Imran Khan was in Toronto for a fundraiser. Next stop: New York. After emplaning on Friday at TO Pearson International Airport, he and other members of his Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) party were off-loaded and questioned by US officials.
This was not a regular
search of the ‘My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist’ kind.
“The US officials inquired Imran Khan regarding his stance on drone strikes and the usage of fund collected in a dinner organized by Toronto franchise of PTI.”
Why did they let
him board the aircraft in the first place? What does travelling have to do with
his views on drones or fund collection? Were any of his party members carrying
weapons? Did they not pass through security? Did they not have valid visas?
If the US is
concerned about what people think of drone strikes and fund collection, they
should ask the voters of America.
Irrespective of
what Pakistanis think about him, I hope his opponents don’t drone on about how
their country is full of anti-Americans. On the flip side, Imran Khan might
just win over some fence-sitters.
Bottomline: this
sort of questioning by the US officials is unacceptable. It means people cannot
even have an opinion.
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ReplyDeleteThey should have offered Im the Dim an opportunity to operate a drone sortie and take a few shoots. It would have turned him into a peace-seeking video junkie! Who knows, he would have turned out to be better at target identification too. After all, he is a peaceful Islamic politician!
ReplyDeleteRizwan:
ReplyDeleteI agree with questions about illegal funding as well as for security reasons. It should happen in every country. You mentioned LTTE, Sri Lanka has stringent security checks for years now.
My issue is that if there is a problem with a person's opinion, then the US should not have granted him a visa. IK, as I have said before, does not have popular support.
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F&F:
Anything interesting happening on the non-Islamic front? I guess not....
This is just another version of their hardball tactics against those who oppose them. They are telling Imran and his followers that no matter how much of a big shot/celebrity he is in South Asia, no respect will be given on their territory and his fame there means nothing to them. Maybe they are sending a message. I wouldn't be surprised if they even whispered a few threats in his ears. Yep they are being nasty but I guess you don't conquer the planet by being nice.
ReplyDeleteSai:
ReplyDeleteNo problems if they don't give celebrities special treatment, if it is for security reasons. And I'd say the same if it were anybody else who has expressed strong views.
If they whispered threats, he is not the kind to not make it known to the world.
I guess it is all about showing 'love' for other countries...