Pindi asks diplomats to surrender passports
LONDON SEPT. 4 Evidently panic stricken at the large-scale defection of Bengali members of its missions staff, the Pakistan Government has now taken an unprecedented step to impound passports for all its diplomatic staff abroad, reports PTI.
An order in this regard issued by Islamabad two days ago called upon its diplomats and other employees in the missions and their families to surrender their passports to heads of respective missions by next Tuesday.
Though in an effort to make the measure appear non-discriminatory towards Bengali staff. It has been made applicable to all employees including those hailing from West Pakistan, Pakistani sources here made only a feeble attempt to conceal the fact that it was aimed at preventing further defections among the Bengalis.
In a vain bid to dispel the obvious popular interpretation of the move, the Pakistan High Commissioner here in a statement said last night, “This measure is applied to all Pakistan employees in all embassies, high commissions and missions everywhere. It does not discriminate against any person from any particular province of Pakistan.”
As for the purpose of the move, the High Commission added by way for further self-delusion that it was an essential security measure” which would also help to prevent “loss of passports which involves issuing new passports.”
But the relation between this measure and defections was made clear by one Pakistani diplomat who was reported by Guardian as having said yesterday,” Difficulties have to be put in the path of man who wants to defect. To impound passports is the most effective way to do this.”
According to other Pakistani diplomatic sources quoted by Guardian, if any member of the staff subsequently wanted his or his family’s impounded passports he would have first to satisfy the authorities that he needed them for a “legitimate purpose.”
“Obviously, if there is any suspicion that a man might attempt to defect he would not be in the same category as the man who wanted the passport for honest reason, these sources reportedly added.
According to Guardian, Islamabad issued an order on the advice from the security officials at its embassies and high commissions that impounding of passports would discourage defections as deprivation of passports would discourage defections as deprivation of passports would make a person Stateless hindering free travel.
Over a score of members of Pakistan’s diplomatic staff, including two in Britain and 14 in the US have so far defected to Bangladesh.
Most Prominent among them was Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iraq. Mr. Abdul Fateh, who two weeks ago gave up his post and flew to London with his family describing the period since March last as “the greatest agony of my life.”
Reference: Hindustan Standard 5.9.1971