 The Foreign Office has denied local press reports that Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, was mistreated by the French authorities during his visit to France. The reports claimed that Mr Rehman had been mistreated when he went to the French foreign ministry and Pakistan's embassy in Paris had not protested the incident. The Foreign Office statement said Mr Rehman went to France for a one-day private visit on October 20. He visited Paris and left without incident. "The French authorities made no contact with Rehman and he did not contact the Pakistani embassy for any assistance," the press release said. | "Certainly not! As a matter of fact, you can't spell 'hospitality' without...ummm...'France'. Or something." |
The question of giving assistance to Mr Rehman did not arise because the French authorities did not make any designation or declaration about him or harass him in any manner, the press release claimed. More than a fortnight after Mr Rehman visited France, a Paris-based Pakistani association informed the Pakistani ambassador that the French authorities had picked up two Pakistanis, Chaudhry Shaheen Akhtar and Ghazanfar Ali Karam, who had hosted and conducted Mr Rehman's visit. The embassy immediately interceded on behalf of the two Pakistanis and contacted the French internal security authorities and the French foreign ministry and secured the release of the two detainees, the press release said.
| So it wasn't Fazl who was mistreated, but a couple of his henchmen who were picked up... |
The French authorities told the Pakistani embassy that one of the Pakistanis was detained and questioned for taking photographs near a restricted site. The two Pakistanis claimed that during questioning, they were asked about their links with Mr Rehman, whom they [the Frenchies] allegedly called a terrorist. This has not yet been confirmed by the French authorities, said the Foreign Office statement. Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) senators raised the issue during a recent Senate session. |