3 min readIslamabadSep 2, 2010 02:53 AM IST
First published on: Sep 2, 2010 at 02:53 AM IST
Pakistans military cancelled a trip by officers to an annual meeting at US Central Command after they were taken off a plane and subjected to unwarranted security checks at Dulles International Airport in Washington,a Pakistani spokesman said Wednesday.
The row appeared to be a sign of the mistrust between the US and Pakistani militaries,which are nominally allies in the fight against Taliban and al-Qaeda. The nine-member delegation was visiting at the invitation of the US militarys Central Command CENTCOM,which oversees wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The delegation was headed by a two-star Navy rear admiral. Its members were waiting take off on United Airlines flight 727 from Dulles International Airport to Tampa,Florida where Central Command is based when the incident took place Monday,said army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas.
The delegation was taken off the plane and subjected to unwarranted security checks that resulted in them missing their flight. They called military authorities in Pakistan who instructed them to return home,Abbas said.
Dawn newspaper reported that the delegation was taken off the plane after a passenger voiced concerns they may have posed a security threat. The Dawn said US security officials detained an army brigadier who was part of the delegation after a passenger complained he did not feel safe around the delegation. The newspaper said the brigadier was removed from the flight and detained along with other members of the delegation,and were later released. They were treated like terrorists, the newspaper quoted an unidentified Pakistani official as saying.
However,Mike Trevino,spokesman for the Airlines,was quoted as saying by The Washington Post,that the delegation was deboarded after one of them made a comment to a flight attendant. Pakistani officials said the remark came from a General in the delegation. The General,weary of a long day of travel,said I hope this is my last flight, or words to that effect. That sparked a call to Dulles law enforcement officials,who detained the delegation for two-and-a-half hours and refused to allow officials to contact their embassy or the US military officials who invited them,the Post quoted an unnamed Pakistani military official as saying.
The Pentagon said that it has not officially apologised to Islamabad. United Airlines is the right place to ask for the action taken by the airlines, Pentagon spokesman Col Dave Lapan said.
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