LONDON: Pakistan Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi made the Pakistani nation proud by refusing to be searched at the British Parliament.
The minister had a session with the British Parliament at the House of Common as he has been in London for IMO elections. On arrival at the House of Commons, he was asked for a body search to which he refused, maintaining that he represents Pakistan and when British parliamentarians visit his country, they are not subjected to searches. The minister decided to abandon his visit if he was searched, after which they apologised and arrangements were made for him to enter the Parliament as an official guest.
Reacting to the incident, Twitter users lauded the minister for taking a principled stand on his dignity and the country’s honour. “Well done Zaidi,” wrote Asif Aziz, Rizwan Tahir and Zaki Khan on their Twitter accounts. Abdullah commented, “Excellent! Body language of a tiger.” Raja Abbas Minhas wrote, “Well done Sir je”, while Hira Arif said that’s how a country should be represented, only then you will gain the respect, Thumbs up. In the past we have examples of people taking their pants off for searching. Expressionless faces.” Abdul Quddos said, “I would I have appreciated if it had been done by any minister of the PPP or even the PMLN. No compromise on our country’s honour.”
Pakistani politicians have often faced criticism in the past for accepting to be body searched at international airports. It is said that the then Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had to face an embarrassing security check before entering the United States. He was allegedly made to strip down at an airport in the United States. A video went viral on the Internet which was also aired by some Pakistani news channels claiming that the man in the video was Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The video was allegedly recorded at John F. Kennedy airport in New York. It triggered widespread anger among Pakistanis over the treatment meted out to their prime minister.
