Pakistan restricts movement of American diplomats: Report

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani government has imposed restrictions on the movement of US diplomats and other embassy officials in the country, media reports said on Friday.

All US diplomats will now require to get special no objection certificate for travelling to other cities, Geo television reported.

Pakistani authorities have imposed travel curbs on US diplomats few days ago. The same curbs would also apply on other diplomats, Geo reported quoted an unspecified sources as saying.

The US has also slapped similar curbs on Pakistani diplomats and embassy staffers in the US, the report said.

There was no official word and reaction from the US embassy.

The reports came days after Pakistan has repeatedly denied US Embassy employees entry into Peshawar city in the country's volatile northwest region, police said.

Two groups of US diplomats were sent back from areas in the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province, this month, according to local media.

All foreigners are required to have special permission to enter the northwest and southwestern Balochistan province, officials say.

The reports came at a time when relations between the US and Pakistan have deteriorated after the this month blockade of USD 800 military aid. The decision was aimed at mounting pressure on Islamabad to take more steps against the Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

Link : Pakistan restricts movement of American diplomats: Report - The Times of India

 

[Devil Soul]

Should have done years back ....

 

[T90TankGuy]

there are always repercussions for what you do . but in the grander scheme of things i think what has been done is right.

 

[Safriz]

surely we will see a sharp fall in the number of terrorism incidents.

 

[Jihad]

I guess this is a tiny measure to show that Pakistan can "bite back" and will not completely accept everything the U.S. throws at us.
It's nothing, but at the same time it's something.

 

[Leader]

surely we will see a sharp fall in the number of terrorism incidents.

very valid point....

 

[TARIQ BN ZIYAAD]

Assalam alaikum

Good move gop.

TARIQ

 

[Farooq]

Pakistan puts travel curbs on US diplomats - Yahoo! News

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has placed new travel restrictions on American diplomats living in the country, a U.S. official said Saturday, in the latest sign of the breakdown in ties between Islamabad and Washington since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Pakistan reacted furiously to the May 2 bin Laden raid deep inside the country because it was carried out with no warning to authorities in Islamabad. The fallout battered an already frayed relationship seen as key to the fight against al-Qaida and Washington's hopes of reaching a settlement in Afghanistan and withdrawing troops.

Islamabad sent home at least 90 U.S. soldiers training Pakistani troops in counterinsurgency and severely cut back on intelligence cooperation. The Obama administration, which took office pledging to strengthen ties with Islamabad, announced it was cutting more than one-third of its military aid to the country.

While Washington's large civilian aid program has been unaffected, the move to restrict diplomats' movements adds a new irritant to the relationship and suggests military-to-military tensions are bleeding into the civilian sphere.

A letter from the Foreign Ministry sent to the American Embassy last month states that all of its diplomats must now apply for special permission to leave the capital five days in advance of travel, including visits to cities where America has consulates.

Such curbs appear to be an unusual step between friendly states. The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations requires host states to allow foreign diplomats "freedom of movement" in the country except for restricted areas. Other foreigners living in Pakistan are free to travel around most of the country.

There are ways, however, to restrict the movement of diplomats without violating the convention.

The letter, dated June 13, was obtained by The Associated Press on Saturday. The AP obtained a second letter dated this month from the Civil Aviation Authority to security officers at Benazir Bhutto International Airport instructing them to carry out the Foreign Ministry order.

A U.S. official confirmed the new restrictions and said the embassy was working with the government to resolve the issue. He did not give his name because of the sensitivity of the relationship at present.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department said it was concerned about the restrictions and in a statement called on Pakistan "to ensure freedom of travel to diplomatic personnel."

It was unclear if other foreign missions in Islamabad had also received a similar notice.

In response to a question, the Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that no "U.S.-specific restrictions have been applied." It said Pakistan was fully mindful of its obligations under the Vienna Convention and was discussing the issue with the embassy.

Earlier this month, at least one carload of American diplomats was refused entry to Peshawar, the main northwestern city. Other diplomats have been able to travel unhindered outside Islamabad since the letter was sent, the American official said.

The United States is nominally a partner with Pakistan, but many Pakistanis, including those in the government, media and armed forces, regard it with mistrust or hostility. The bin Laden raid, and the shooting deaths of two Pakistani men by a CIA contractor in January, were taken as more signs that Washington has malevolent intentions in the country.

The fact that bin Laden had been hiding in an army town close to the capital only reinforced suspicions in Washington that Pakistan was an unreliable partner in the fight against al-Qaida. There are also growing frustrations with Islamabad over its refusal to act against powerful militant factions in the northwest that are killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan but pose no immediate threat to Pakistan.

 

[Imran Khan]

not only these legal CIA agent in dress of diplomats but they should found every CIA agent if he/she is US citizen send him back if pakistani shot him on the spot after we shot 10-20 CIA agents no one dare to be sell her mother for money.the big problem is pakistani agents not US. look at that bastard doc WHY THEY NEVER SHOT HIM AND THROW HIS BODY IN GARBAGE ?

 

[VCheng]

not only these legal CIA agent in dress of diplomats but they should found every CIA agent if he/she is US citizen send him back if pakistani shot him on the spot after we shot 10-20 CIA agents no one dare to be sell her mother for money.the big problem is pakistani agents not US. look at that bastard doc WHY THEY NEVER SHOT HIM AND THROW HIS BODY IN GARBAGE ?

I would hope that you would want to follow the procedures laid down by the law: Charge him, present the evidence in court, convince a judge/jury, and then carry out the prescribed punishment if found guilty.

 

[DV RULES]

Good decision, at least there will not be more blasts in areas where diplomats are used to go. More over there should be rule to declare Persona non grata if they violate respected rules more than 3 times and if they tried to enter restricted area then after first warning they should be declared as Persona non grata. There should not be any ease. last year with their free movement in Peshawar, Peshawar was turned as real mess so let innocent people live with peace and restrict any entrance of diplomats.

US consulate should be removed from Peshawar.

Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations Article 9, a receiving State may "at any time and without having to explain its decision" declare any member of a diplomatic staff persona non grata. A person so declared is considered unacceptable and is usually recalled to his or her home nation. If not recalled, the receiving State "may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the mission."

 

[Respect4Respect01]

I would hope that you would want to follow the procedures laid down by the law: Charge him, present the evidence in court, convince a judge/jury, and then carry out the prescribed punishment if found guilty.

that was suppose to happened to raymond davis too, but look what happened brother.

 

[VCheng]

that was suppose to happened to raymond davis too, but look what happened brother.

I see your point, but was not RD set free by the court by paying blood money as allowed by the law? Sometimes the law is an a55 no matter where in the world one is, witness the recent release of Casey Anthony in the murder trial of her daughter.

 

[khurasaan1]

I see your point, but was not RD set free by the court by paying blood money as allowed by the law? Sometimes the law is an a55 no matter where in the world one is, witness the recent release of Casey Anthony in the murder trial of her daughter.

our country , govt and the courts are not free from the Western interventions......our pplz never wanted him to be free our foregn minister resigned for it....so justice was not served instead it was forced on the victims....cuz fahims wife died in hospital she never wanted blood money similarly some of the others pplz never wanted it....they were beatenup and forced to take blood money.......so??????..............

 

[muse]

was not RD set free by the court by paying blood money as allowed by the law?

Well that was a solution our friend the Sodie came up with --- But I think this thing is seriously headed so far south, that - well, I don't think the Pakistanis can tolerate the political cost of climbing out of this hole.

I think US policy makers do not realize what this poor state of relations will mean for them and Pakistan is do realize that any climbdown will have to be one in the US