US screening plan ‘genocide’ of cultural values: Rabbani

ISLAMABAD: Senators have demanded that the president and the prime minister should not undertake visits to the United States till the US government withdraws new screening guidelines for body search of Pakistani citizens.

The Senate on Wednesday began discussion on an adjournment motion regarding issuance of new set of screening guidelines by the United States subjecting Pakistani passengers to special scrutiny. The motion was moved by Mian Raza Rabbani and Deputy Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali.

Leader of the Opposition Senator Wasim Sajjad demanded that the US should officially be conveyed that such a treatment of Pakistani passengers was not acceptable. He also proposed that the issue should be raised at the UN Human Rights Commission. He said the president and the prime minister should not visit the US till Washington withdraws such body search restrictions on Pakistanis.

Wasim Sajjad also suggested that the foreign minister should visit the United States to convey concerns of the Pakistani nation and parliament over undignified behaviour with Pakistani citizens at American and European countries airports.

Earlier, initiating the debate, Mian Raza Rabbani, who was one of the two co-movers, said these screening guidelines are sheer violation of the International Human Rights Charter and the government should raise the issue at global forums. He also demanded that a protest memorandum should be handed over to the US Embassy in Islamabad. Rabbani termed the new screening guidelines genocide of cultural values, saying the citizens of third world countries also enjoy the rights equal to those of developed countries.

He said the US restrictions were also sheer violation of Article 1 and Article 2 of universal declaration of human rights. ANP’s Senator Haji Adeel called for tit-for-tat response to the Americans. Jan Muhammad Jamali, the other mover, demanded that Americans should be subjected to the same screening guidelines on their arrival in Pakistan.

The Senate also unanimously passed the Federal Board of Revenue (Amendment) Act 2009 further to amend the Federal Board of Revenue Act 2007. Online adds: Minister for Housing Rehmatullah Kakar informed the Upper House that the members of parliament had not been allotted plots in the federal capital, however proposals in this regard are underway.