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FBI RAID ON PAKISTANI PHYSICIANS BACKFIRES
by our Pakistan observer
If the U.S. was trying hard to lose friends and gain enemies in
Pakistan, it succeeded. The FBI swooped down on a family of physicians on
the outskirts of Lahore and arrested nine people, mostly physicians.
The raid was led by the FBI but the dirty work was done by
Musharref's special forces.
Two of those arrested are U.S. citizens and one a Canadian citizen,
all members of the same family known for its charitable services both
in Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
Just because some of them visited
Afghanistan to help the needy, they became the targets of the U.S.'s inept and
inefficient FBI.
After the arrests, there was a furor of protests in Pakistan.
Thousands of people whom the family of physicians had treated came out to
protest against U.S. intervention and blocked the G.T. road highway
outside Lahore for two hours.
Numerous physicians came out to protest, led by the famous Dr. Aziz
who was arrested last month in a similar raid by the FBI and had to be
released under Pakistani protests.
The protests this time reached every aspect of society, so much so
that even politicians supporting Musharref condemned the raid. In
serious damage control, Musharref's prime minister, Jamali, and foreign
minister Qasuri claimed that they had no info on FBI inclusion in the raid.
Jamali even claimed that he was kept totally in the dark about the
raid. [Some observers say that Jamali may be telling the truth, which would
indicate that Musharref is dealing with the U.S. even above his own
prime minister's head.]
America
today has become a dirty name in Pakistan. The U.S. should
question the stupidity of its FBI thugs who are ruining whatever
chances of goodwill remain for the U.S. in the Muslim world. Kidnaping of
Muslim doctors from their homes indicates the desperation and futility of
the U.S. in its attempts to catch those elusive enemies who cannot be
found.
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2002-12-29 Sun 08:16ct