WASHINGTON, Sept 21: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and a senator from his party were prevented from boarding a plane to the United States at Doha airport, official sources told Dawn. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who also heads the parliament’s Kashmir Committee, was scheduled to attend an OIC committee meeting on Kashmir on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. He was reportedly told that he could not travel to the United States because his name was on a list of persons who advocated terrorism. Federal Minister for Science and Technology Azam Khan Swati was also prevented from boarding the flight because US officials believe he provided false information to immigration officials during a previous visit to North America. Mr Swati, who once was a US citizen but had given up his citizenship in 1979, allegedly told US immigration officials that he was still a citizen. When US authorities conveyed their decision to the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, the embassy asked them to reconsider the move. US authorities agreed to allow Mr Swati to attend the General Assembly on a special arrangement reserved for visitors who otherwise cannot enter the United States, such as Iranian officials, but are allowed to attend UN meetings. An arrangement with the United Nations requires the US administration to allow all those who are invited to a UN meeting to enter New York. This entry permit, however, is not a visa and those entering New York on this permit, cannot go outside the city. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Embassy is trying to make a similar arrangement for Maulana Fazlur Rehman and hopes that he would also be able to attend the OIC meeting.
ISLAMABAD: Against his public perception of being an anti-American, Maulana Fazlur Rehman is reflected in a cable released by WikiLeaks as a frequent and cooperative American interlocutor, who professes his support for cooperation with the United States. The JUI-F leader has been described in the secret US cable as “more politician than mulla”, and “a frequent and cooperative interlocutor” with the post (US Embassy Islamabad). The Maulana is also shown as professing his “support for cooperation with the United States.” US embassy’s CDA Peter Bodde wrote in his April 3, 2008 cable, released by WikiLeaks, that Rehman, more politician than mulla, has been a prominent and legitimate figure in Pakistani politics since the 1980s. He “has publicly denounced terrorist attacks, but prefers to use negotiations rather than military force against militants. Although he is known to have contacts with Taliban and their sympathisers, he has negotiated with religious militants on the government’s behalf, garnering him criticism from the more hard-line religious sectors.”
The primary purpose of the message was to request the FBI to recall information about Fazlur Rehman, which indicated that an individual “Fasilur Rehman” believed to be associated with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) is behind the March 2008 bombing in Islamabad. The cable said that the information suggests that Fasilur Rehman refers to political party leader Fazlur Rehman of the JUI-F. The embassy “requests that FBI recall this information from all hardcopy and database records due to discrepancies and errors in the report.” It noted that prominent Pakistan politician Fazlur Rehman is not associated with the JI, but instead leads his own political party, the JUI-F. From 2002-2007, the two parties allied with other religious parties in the coalition Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). However, the JUI-F and JI retained separate leadership structures as well as separate political objectives and methods, it said.
The cable said that Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F is a conservative Deobandi religious party that has recently joined the new Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led government. The JI is a religious party that appeals to a narrow sector of the educated, conservative urban middle class. JI, which has a vibrant student wing, began as a movement for social change based on Sharia. “The JI party policy does not support violence as a means to achieve their political agenda, however, the party quietly has supported Jihad in Afghanistan and Kashmir by providing recruits from their student corps. The party does not support violence perpetuated within Pakistan, such as the recent attack on the restaurant in Islamabad. In addition, Fasilur Rehman and Fazlur Rehman are extremely common Pakistani names, making it impossible to accurately identify the individual with the prominent JUI-F politician.” In an earlier cable, the WikiLeaks showed the Maulana approaching the then US Ambassador Anne Patterson to become the Prime Minister. It was revealed that the leader of the country’s most fiercely pro-Taliban religious party, hosted a jovial dinner for Patterson at which the Maulana sought her backing to become prime minister and expressed a desire to visit America. Maulana-like Maulana’s lieutenant Abdul Ghafoor Haideri acknowledged that “All important parties in Pakistan had to get the approval of the US (to get power).” Fazl keeps regular contact with US embassy, says cable By Ansar Abbasi Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Tuesday, December 07, 2010, Zilhajj 30, 1431 A.H
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