The Real Front Line
We were honoured to be visited by Inspector General of Police from the province of NWFP, Pakistan, Malik Naveed Khan. He was in the UK on a brief visit and we persuaded him to visit my home town of Aylesbury.
We had originally arranged a low key visit to the local Police to re-establish contacts. He had been interviewed by Newsnight and suddenly he was conducting interviews all day. He had an extensive interview broadcast that night outlining the conflict currently taking place in Pakistan
He is directly in the front line, having felt directly the consequences when his cousin and my friend was killed by a suicide bomber even though he had 24 bodyguards around him. Consequently his life is severly curtailed with little or no social life because his being somewhere is not just a threat to him but to all those around him, he pays a heavy price for doing his duty.
What annoys me most about the West’s reaction to Pakistan’s efforts is the price the people of Pakistan are paying. He told of us of nearly 2 million internally displaced people! Imagine that in Britain! Pakistan a relatively poor country has to cope with that while a terrorist threat kills indiscriminately from former Prime Minister Bhutto to poor people going about their everyday business. I was there in March and missed two bombs going off by the good fortune of good timing.
Scores of police have been and are being killed and yet they are still relatively poorly paid and equipped. I have asked Thames Valley Police to help by offerring their redundant equipment that may be of help. Also in the week that saw the conviction of the “liquid” bombers from this area, just exchanging communication links maybe of help.
Pakistan is not helped by a kleptocratic ruling elite but there are people like the Inspector General who are trying their best in the worst of circumstances and we should be doing our outmost to help.
Subscribe to the comments for this postBiggest Star in BollyWood detained by US Homeland Security
This made laugh then angry, because if the biggest star in the Sub continent can be the victim of profiling what hope is there for the rest us nobodies. Shah Rukh Khan has been a major star for more than a billion people for a long time, as far as it is known, he has no political affiliations and none that could be termed in the least controversial. He is a proud Indian citizen so why was he detained for more than two hours? Firstly because his name is Khan and because he is Muslim.
This will do wonders for the American tourist industry.