Pakistan PM has been checked at a US airport while on a private visit to meet his ailing sister. He was checked like a common citizen. The Prime Minister also met the US Vice-President Mike Pence on an unscheduled meet. Reports suggest that he was told that Pakistan must do more to curb terrorism.
Twitter users mocked the Pakistan PM for this check as it was considered a humiliation for any leader of a country.
I Apologise To People Of Pakistan On Behalf Of US President Donald Trump. If Strip Search Of Pakistan PM #ShahidKhaqanAbbasi Makes You Angry, Kindly Donate To AAP. We Also Accept Coats, Shoes And Belts.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@TroluKejri) March 28, 2018
This was seen as a decline in respect for Pakistan in the world.
Pakistan Prime Minister #ShahidKhaqanAbbasi was abased down to any regular person at the John F. Kennedy airport in New York, as viral videos on Youtube show Abbasi being frisked during the security procedure. This is what they have been reduced to by entire world.
— Totlani Krishan (@kktotlani) March 28, 2018
Some users saw it as Karma’s work in exchange for treatment given to Kulbhushan Jadhav’s wife and mother.
Pakistan Govt. had forced Kulbhushan Jadhav wife & Mother to change clothes, remove Sindoor & Mangalsutra.
Now Pakistan PM #ShahidKhaqanAbbasi was strip searched & humiliated in USA. pic.twitter.com/qrXQgstLBc
— Nitish mishra (@er_nitishmishra) March 28, 2018
Whether this was a deliberate move by the US or an aberration is still unclear. This has seriously damaged the little reputation of the Pakistani Prime Minister on the world stage. At a time when the US-Pakistan ties are at its worse, this incident would probably deteriorate things further with the United States demanding Pakistan’s firm action against terror havens and Pakistan refusing to do so.
The United States has also recently imposed sanctions on 7 Pakistani companies for links with nuclear trade crushing any hope that the country had to make it to the elite Nuclear Supply Group (NSG).
The Bureau said in a report that the companies were “determined by the U.S. government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.” The companies will now be suffering strict controls on its exports which could prevent it from conducting international trade. Three of seven companies have been listed for “their involvement in the proliferation of non-safeguarded nuclear activities that are contrary to the national security and/or foreign policy interests of the United States”.
Perhaps this incident will convince Pakistan to buckle up and act on state-sponsored terrorism, but we are not holding our breath.
