bq. In a sign of growing concern over Islamic militants’ training camps in Pakistan, the Department of Homeland Security has ordered its inspectors at America’s largest airports to scrutinize all travelers of Pakistani descent _including U.S. citizens_ in an effort to catch terrorist trainees who might try to enter the United States, officials said Wednesday.
bq. In particular, agents are being told to look for signs of injuries that could have been received during paramilitary training such as rope burns, unusual bruises and scars…Most of the camps in Pakistan are thought to be overseen by militants who belong to fundamentalist Islamic organizations with links to Al Qaeda, the official said. He added that they were probably less sophisticated than the training operations that Al Qaeda oversaw in Afghanistan before the U.S.-led military campaign to destroy them in late 2001…Even before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, U.S. authorities and their counterparts in India were closely monitoring such camps. They contend that the camps have trained Islamic militants fighting along with Pakistan against India in the contested area of Kashmir. [“Los Angeles Times”:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pakwarn1jul01,1,6709170.story?coll=la-headlines-nation (regn reqd)]
These are the benefits of being the citizens of a “Non-Nato Major Ally”:https://varnam.org/archives/000365.html. It is not just the Americans. As Kamran Shafi writes
bq. In the end, and in light of the foregoing, let me give a short comparison of how the world looks at India and us. As of now, the Schengen States do not issue more than a three-month validity visa for those Pakistanis lucky to get one; Indians are allowed, hold on to your chairs, 10-year visas! So much for our front-line state against terrorism status; so much for our major non-Nato ally nonsense. [“Daily Times”:http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-7-2004_pg3_3]
NNMA Privileges
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