Recall of Pakistani Military Delegation
By Air Marshal (Retd.) Ayaz Ahmed Khan
Islamabad, Pakistan
The nine-member military delegation led by Rear Admiral Arifullah Hussaini was recalled after it was allegedly mistreated by United Airline staff and by the Homeland-US Transport Security Agency staff at the Dulles International Washington Airport. The delegation comprising senior officers was on way to Tampa , Florida to attend the annual US-Pakistan Military Consultative Committee meeting.
The delegation was asked to leave the United Airlines aircraft when a Brigadier told the airline attendant, “I hope this is my last flight”. The interpretation of this remark by the air hostess as a terrorist threat is astonishing. There perhaps was a heated exchange between the Pakistani Brigadier and the airline attendant The air hostess/steward rushed to inform the captain of the aircraft, who ordered the Pakistanis to be removed from the plane, United Airline flight 727 ,which at the time was flying out from the Dullas International Airport . Heated altercation between foreign passengers and airline attendants created a rumpus. It is worth mentioning that altercations with airline staff on board American aircraft is an offence under US laws. Why did the Pakistani Brigadier make such a remark to the United Airline attendant remains to be clarified. Was his tone and tenor in any way threatening or angry should also be explained.
The verbal altercation was reported as remarks threatening the security of the aircraft and passengers on board. The Brigadier and two of his colleagues were detained by the airport security officials, who subjected them to uncalled for humiliating interrogation. According to press reports members of the Pak military delegation were not allowed to talk to Pakistan Embassy officials. After being subjected to intensive interrogation, the Pak military delegation was cleared, and the airline offered to rebook them for the next morning flight to Tampa. According to the Dawn, “The officers of the military delegation were treated as terrorists”. According to a US Army handout, “The United States regretted the mistreatment of Pakistan military delegation at Dulles International Airport, terming the incident as most unfortunate. According to Pakistan Observer, the United States has profusely apologized, and “has begged pardon from the government of Pakistan, requesting that the cancelled meeting be held in Islamabad”.
During a routine briefing in Washington US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said that the incident was deplorable. According to The Nation’s special correspondent in Washington DC “the United States expressed regret only, and not an apology, and gave no assurance that it won’t happen in the future.” Crowley added that “such interrogations are a fact of life, and will happen as long as air travel remains the primary target of international terrorism. However on Thursday night (Sept 2 nd) US Under Secretary of State for Defense Michelle Flournoy telephoned Lieutenant General (retd) Syed Ather Ali, her Pakistani counterpart, and apologized for the mistreatment meted out to the high-level Pakistani military delegation.
The Pakistani Defense Secretary protested over the incident and emphasized the need for devising an institutionalized mechanism. But institutionalized mechanism to ensure politeness by US Security officials is unlikely. It is worth mentioning that US Airport Security officials have wide powers, which are sometimes misused. The airport security have subjected thousands of passengers, including foreign VIPs to brute, degrading and humiliating body search. George Fernandes, the former Indian Defense Minister, was stripped naked, during such a search at New York’s JFK Airport. The airport security officials totally disregarded the fact that he was the defense minister of India and was an official guest of the US Department of State. Shahrukh Khan, Indian film icon and movie celebrity, was also ordered to un-strip and was subjected to verbal abuse when he protested. There was uproar in India, and Shahrukh Khan’s famous movie ("I am a Khan, but not a terrorist”) was shown in US cinemas and widely acclaimed. This film was critical of discrimination at US airports. Now most US and European airports have scanners for body search, which expose every part of the male and female body for the inspection of the airport security staff. Yet the passengers are made to take off shoes, jackets, and belts. Pakistani passengers are subjected sometime to double search, with powder search to ensure that drugs and explosives are not hidden in clothing apparel and shoes. And this is not new. Suspected drug carrying aircraft or passengers are taken to the far corners of the airport, are segregated, and searched. Sniffing dogs are brought into the aircraft and made to sniff clothing and baggage. Modern devices are now available to detect weapons, explosives and drugs.
Members of the Pakistani military delegations should have been properly briefed about travel on US airlines, about the need of wisdom and discretion, when engaging in conversation with airline staff, especially with air hostesses and cabin attendants. Any loose remarks could be misinterpreted and could give rise to problems.
While US airline crews are highly professional and hardworking, rude attitude of airhostesses and male cabin stewards is quite often visible. When you press the button to draw the attention of airhostesses on Pakistani and most other international airlines, they respond and help out; albeit the fact that they have to attend to 150 to 350 passengers. On United and American Airlines, air hostesses treat such calls as a nuisance, and may not respond at all. If reminded they could rudely retort, “Don’t you see, I am busy”. If you request for tea or coffee, the air hostess may tell you to wait, or retort, “I will give you coffee, after I had my own coffee”. By and large, American flight and cabin crews are highly professional and must be treated with respect. In Pakistan some passengers treat the air hostesses as maid servants, if not slaves. In America you need to be careful as to how you talk to them. The remark of the Pakistan Brigadier to an airhostess or attendant that “I hope this is my last flight”, was unwise. The intellectual level of a Brigadier is much higher than that of an airline flight attendant. The tone of the Brigadier was misunderstood. Hollywood movies on the subject would be educational and instructive for Pakistani passengers. Some of these films highlight the high-handedness of cabin crews with American passengers.
Under the circumstances it was in order for the Joint Staff Headquarters to order recall of the entire delegation. By so doing we have brought on record the fact that Pakistani military officers in particular and Pakistani citizens in general must be treated with respect aboard American aircraft and at US airports.
