Pakistani lawmakers have threatened to boycott their American counterparts and the US itself after a
Pakistani legislator was denied a visa
to attend a UN-sponsored International Parliamentary Union being held in New York.
Amid continually deteriorating ties between the two countries, mainly
on account of Pakistan's use of terrorism, the US Embassy in Islamabad
reportedly nixed a visa for Maulana Abudul Ghafoor ,
who belongs to the fundamentalist Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl,
well-known for its toxic anti-American rants.Abdul was scheduled to
travel to the US with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator, retired
Lt-Gen Salahuddin Tirmizi on Sunday, but although Tirmizi was given a
visa, Abduls application was put on hold.
The rejection enraged the Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, who according
to the Pakistani media, has declared that "No delegation, member of
Congress or diplomat of the US will be welcomed by the Senate of
Pakistan, Senate Standing Committees and the senators in their official
capacity till this issue is resolved." Rabbani also called off the UN
visit and ordered that no Senate delegation would visit the US until its
diplomatic mission explained the delay in issuance of a visa to Abdul.
Pakistan has come under increasing scrutiny for the terrorism it
exports to the sub-continent and beyond, including to the United States.
It escaped being placed in the list of seven Muslim-majority countries
whose nationals were banned from traveling to the US, even as
administration officials and analysts acknowledged that Pakistanis and
Saudis, more than any of the seven proscribed countries, undertook acts
of terrorism on US soil, including in New York and San Bernardino
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