Washington: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had to undergo a routine security check at a US airport during a recent visit, an 'indignity' that has enraged the Pakistani media amid reports that the Trump administration is considering imposing visa bans and other sanctions on individuals in the Pakistani government.
Footage aired on Pakistani TV channels shows Abbasi picking up his bag and coat and walking out from a security check at what they said was an American airport. Abbasi was in the US recently on a private trip but he also met vice-president Mike Pence who bluntly told Abbasi that Pakistani has to do more to address concerns about its nurturing of terrorist groups.
But it was the sight of the country’s prime minister being subjected to a security check that incensed Pakistani TV anchors. "He should be ashamed for saying he went on a private visit. He is the prime minister… he has a diplomatic passport …there is no such thing as a private visit. He is representing the country… there are certain protocols when you are representing 220 million people," roared one talking head, saying Pakistan had been humiliated and Abbasi had brought shame on the country.
The US smackdown came even as Foreign Policy magazine reported that the Trump administration is 'weighing unprecedented political penalties' on Islamabad for harbouring Afghan militants waging war on the US-backed government in Afghanistan. "The options under consideration include revoking Pakistan’s status as a major non-NATO ally, permanently cutting off the US military aid that was suspended two months ago, and even imposing visa bans or other sanctions on individuals in the Pakistani government deemed responsible for providing support to the militants," the journal said.
The magazine reported that the Trump administration is now engaged in an internal debate about the tempo and scale of possible punitive steps against Pakistan, echoing arguments under previous US presidents. Some officials and military officers favour a hard line with Pakistan, maintaining that years of aid and accommodation have produced little in return. But other voices in the administration worry about alienating a nuclear-armed country of 200 million people bordering China.
The appointment last week of a fervent hawk as national security advisor, John Bolton, and the nomination of another for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, it said 'could tilt the discussion in favor of tougher measures against Islamabad.'
However, past records and Bolton’s own writing on the subject suggests he believes in the "nuclear Pakistan is too big and too dangerous to be allowed to fail" school, and he would rather keep buying Islamabad’s compliance with a steady dribble of aid. Pushing it too hard could well lead to it becoming "Iran or North Korea on steroids," Bolton said in 2017.
Pakistan has taken full advantage of such a scenario to talk up its nuclear weapons and its radicals whenever convenient to milk Washington for aid. But unlike previous administrations, Foreign Policy said, Trump’s deputies are looking at permanently cutting off the annual flow of military aid this year, which could put a strain on Pakistan’s defense budget and deprive it of coveted US military hardware.
"We are prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect US personnel and interests in the region," it quoted a senior administration official saying. If the lack of protocol for Pakistan’s prime minister during his recent visit to the US, and the sanctions announced on on seven Pakistani companies over suspicion they have links to the nuclear trade are any indication, then the screws are already being tightened.
