Pakistani
politician Imran Khan (AFP Photo / A Majeed)
Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/us-immigration-drone-strikes-398/
US immigration authorities have taken Pakistan’s former
cricket superstar-turned-politician Imran Khan off a flight to New York and
interrogated. Khan is known for his anti-drone campaigning.
Khan, who is now a popular political figure in Pakistan
and ahead of the Pakistan Movement for Justice party (PTI), was removed from an
American Airlines flight heading from Canada to New York and interrogated.
Immigration officials asked him whether he was planning to protest in the US, as
well as demanding to know his views on drone strikes and jihad.
Earlier this month, the former cricket star led thousands
of Pakistani protesters, together with some US anti-war advocates, on a march
from Islamabad to the tribal region of South Waziristan in opposition to US
drone strikes. About 15,000 of his supporters joined him in the high-profile
march, which focused attention on the strikes that have killed large numbers of
civilians. Islamabad recently said that 80 percent of drone-related deaths were
civilians.
“I was taken off the plane and interrogated by US
Immigration in Canada on my views on drones. My stance is known. Drone attacks
must stop,” Khan wrote in a tweet after being questioned on Friday.
Khan had been on his way to the US to give a speech and attend a fundraiser
organized by his political party, which the delay caused him to miss.
“Missed flight and sad to miss the fundraising lunch in
NY but nothing will change my stance,” he tweeted.
Furthermore, Khan said the official who was questioning
him did not seem to understand drone warfare himself. He also expressed
confusion over why he was granted a visa to visit the US given if his stance on
drones was a problem.
Khan heads a political party that was founded in 1996 and
ignored for years. The PTI was called “Pakistan’s one-man party” by the US
Department of State. Today, it is rapidly growing, with electable officials
joining. The Pakistani leader believes the War on Terror “has been devastating
for Pakistan,” he said in an interview with Julian Assange in June.
“Basically, our army was killing our own people,” he said.
He is an avid opponent to US presence on Pakistani soil –
even when it came down to the killing of Osama Bin Laden in May 2011. The US
mission to kill the former terrorist leader in Pakistan shows that “our ally
did not trust us,” the politician said.
Rather than employ Pakistan as “a hired gun, being
paid to kill America’s enemies,” Khan believes the US should trust that
there will not be terrorism coming out of Pakistan.
Several Canadian commentators have suggested that groups
protesting Khan’s entrance to the US may have influenced Immigration to pull
him off the flight. The American Islamic Leadership Coalition last week
requested that Hilary Clinton attempt to revoke his visa due to what they
believe are sympathetic views towards the Taliban.
“The US Embassy made a significant error in granting this
Islamist leader a visa,” the group said in a statement reported by the Sun.
“Granting individuals like Khan access to the US to fundraise is against
the interest of the people of Pakistan and the national security interests of
the US.”
Ali Zaidi, a senior PTI party leader, demanded an apology
from the US government for removing Khan from the plane. So far, no apologies
have been made, and Immigration officials have only restated their policies.
“Our dual mission is to facilitate travel in the United
States while we secure our borders, our people, and our visitors from those
that would do us harm like terrorists and terrorist weapons, criminals, and
contraband,” Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Joanne
Ferreira told the Toronto Sun.
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