Articles of the year 2005
Published on January 14th, 2005
What Fun. The redoubtable Maulana Fazlurrahman leader of the Opposition has been manhandled (?) on a trip to Paris. It seems the French Constabulary also accused his sponsor of inviting a known Terrorist to France. Finally our Mullahs are facing the suffering that the rest of us have known for a long time now. Pakistanis are no longer welcome in any country of the World. As far as the EU is concerned we are not issued Visas unless we are invited by a Sponsor to visit. A Pakistani going to Paris for a holiday is a thing of the Past. To visit the Louvre, view the Mona Lisa ----- not if you are a Pakistani. The Coliseum in Rome—only in books and magazines for you Pakistanis.
Oh and its not all one way. The EU and the State Dept have travel Advisories telling their citizens to avoid Pakistan so their poor citizens will have to go elsewhere for a good holiday missing the delights on offer here. Their citizens will never know the wonders that exist in our great Country, they will only read of the Poverty without firsthand knowledge, unless they are stout hearted and are prepared to ignore their Govt's advice.. very difficult for the average citizen.
We need to have a serious look at the workings of our FO, and the way that our Tourism Dept is projecting our Country. On both counts Pakistan has been brought to Pariah status by the other countries. It is a disgrace because, I for one am proud to be a Pakistani, and am bewildered by the treatment being meted out to our citizens by the foreign Embassies. The standing inline in the Sun the questioning. Surely our Govt should do something about it, but does it have the will. Our wretched FO complete with their three piece suits and Oxford accents cannot be bothered with the treatment handed out to us the normal citizens. Our FO staff actually think they are of a different Nationality, and therefore are not really concerned.Mr President the famous accountability should take a close look at the performance of these two departments, because in both instances it is the Nations pride that is at stake, and being sullied. The Arab states call us the "Miskeen Pakistanis". Can we get any lower.?
We cannot expect any relief from our newly elected MNAs and Senators, because they are all part of the VVIP culture, and know not the rigours, or humility of lining up for a visa. The entire top echelon of the FO deserves a sound beating, and should be made to do the rounds at the various Embassies to see the treatment that we the citizens receive. An important gauge of the success or failure of a Govt is the treatment of its citizens by other Govts. Mr. President today our Govt has succeeded in putting our people so far down that it would need a superhuman effort to bring us respect of any kind internationally.
To have a Pakistani as acting Head of a UN body is all very well, but if it is not translated into a higher respect for our Green Passport then all the effort is wasted. It is such a pity that we, belonging to such a great country have to suffer such indignities, that can be addressed provided our Govt makes up its mind to do so.