... aka
Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems...
has said he was pulled off a New York-bound plane by US immigration officials and interrogated about his view on American drone strikes in his country.
Khan, leader of the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI), was headed to New York to attend a fund raiser organised by his party when he was stopped by US officials in Toronto on Friday, he said.
“I was taken off from plane and interrogated by US Immigration in Canada on my views on drones. My stance is known. Drone attacks must stop,” he wrote on Twitter.
Officials from Khan’s party said the delay meant he missed his flight and was late for the party fundraising event in New York, but he insisted “nothing will change my stance”.
“My stand on drones is very clear. I did not say sorry to them,” Khan said after arriving in New York, according to a local news channel.
“I still couldn’t understand why they did this. The official was questioning me about drones but I think he himself didn’t understand what he was talking about,” he added.
The US ambassador to Pakistain “knew that I will always oppose the drone attack, then why (did) they issue me visa”, he later said at the fund raising event.
Ali Zaidi, a senior party leader demanded “a prompt and thorough inquiry into this sordid episode” and sought “an unconditional apology from the US government”.
US officials in Washington declined to comment.