LAHORE: As the Pak-US tiff grows over the refusal of Islamabad to expand the Pakistani military operations in the country’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to dismantle the Haqqani network in Waziristan which is allegedly harbouring al Qaeda, Pakistan has stopped issuing visas to American citizens including army officials, diplomats and contractors.
According to the US Embassy sources in Islamabad, Pakistan has refused visas to as many as 137 American citizens who had applied during the last two months. Asked about the reason, these sources claimed that Pakistan has held up visas for American diplomats, military service members and others, apparently because of hostility within the country toward the expansion of US operations in Pakistan. A senior US embassy official in Islamabad said while requesting anonymity that several employees at the US embassy have gone home for Christmas leave and would be unable to return to Pakistan as the authorities in Islamabad have not extended their visas. The official said in all 137 cases visa extensions have been denied, adding that many other visa applications have been denied outright. He further said that American diplomats have also been stopped repeatedly at many Pakistani checkpoints in Lahore and Islamabad and the US cars are also searched as part of a wider focus on foreigners working in Pakistan.
While the American official said the Pakistani authorities have not provided a comprehensive response to their complaints regarding rejection of the 137 visa applications, the foreign office circles in Islamabad say these visas were refused because of incorrect information that the applicants had provided to authorities through Pakistan Embassy in Washington. After assessing their information, the foreign office sources said, the authorities in Islamabad found the applications incomplete. “In some cases, even bogus information was provided that led to the refusal of visas. During assessment of the documents, the Pakistani authorities found the applications of 137 visa seekers incomplete and rejected their cases”, a senior foreign office official in Islamabad added while requesting not to be named.
The visa hold-up comes as the latest tangible sign of the volatility of official US-Pakistani relations. The diplomatic snub comes as the US embassy expands the number of American personnel working in Pakistan to oversee $1.5 billion per year in non-military assistance to Pakistan. The US aid is part of an attempt to demonstrate a new, long-term commitment to the country. But it has provoked outrage in Pakistan where critics said the package which sets certain benchmarks for the Pakistani government – compromises Pakistani sovereignty. The Pakistani authorities have meanwhile rejected the impression that the visas refusal was a reaction to the widespread anti-American sentiments in the country saying it was purely on merit and the American were over-reacting and had the visa seekers provided accurate information, there applications would not have been rejected.
The visa refusal reports surfaced at a time when a high-ranking official of Obama Administration, Chairman US Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, was busy meeting government high ups in Islamabad including Pakistani President Asif Zardari and Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani. Mullen had traveled to Pakistan after President Zardari turned down a US request to expand Pakistani military operations in FATA. In a letter to President Obama last week, Zardari also urged him to speed up American military assistance to Pakistan. He wrote the letter in response to a letter Mr Obama sent last month, urging Islamabad to step up operations against militants.
President Asif Zardari wrote that his government was determined to take action against al- Qaeda, the Taliban and allied insurgent groups attacking US forces in Afghanistan from the border areas in Pakistan. However, he added, Pakistan’s efforts would be based on its own timeline and operational needs. Pakistani Army Chief Ashfaq Kayani, reinforced this message on December 15, 2009 when he told General David Petraeus, the head of the US Central Command, that the United States should not expect “a major operation in North Waziristan” in the coming months. The letters between Obama and Zardari clearly reflect ongoing strains in a relationship that is crucial to both Washington and Islamabad.
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