A member of Senator Mushahid Hussain's delegation confided into me the whole incident on the promise that I will not reveal the source. Notwithstanding the fact that the senators were representing Musharraf's Pakistan now under the facade of his enlightened moderation and were in Brussels to meet the EU members to improve Islamabad' s much tarnished human rights image, they were treated like ordinary passengers by the Immigration authorities. When Senator Maulana Samiul Haq's name was entered, the computer vomited enormous data on him. It included several pictures of the incident that got him nicknamed "Sammy, the Sandwich" during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's first government. I don't believe it but my source claimed that they had juicy clips focusing on the employed 'sandwich position' that was attributed to him in what was then called a dirty tricks operation by the Intelligence Bureau against the Maulana. Although western societies are not much averse to pornography, a man with a flowing beard involved in a "sandwich position" with lucid and lewd details of "Sammy's" erotic antics did invoke some interest but what made the Immigration authorities stop Senator Samiul Haq had to do with his avowed, recorded and continued support for OBL, Taliban and the Jihadis. Had Islamabad learnt a lesson from Gujarat (India) Chief Minister Narender Modi's case of his being refused an American visit visa on ground of his human rights record of massacring Muslims, it would have been a right and wise decision to red-pencil Maulana Samiul Haq's name from the EU-bound delegation since he is known for his support of the Taliban and the Jihadis. His network of seminaries continue to churn out Jihadi youth, his support and affection for the Taliban and OBL remain unabated and his presence as a leader of the MMA assures the Jihadis of government support as well. Besides, Senator Haq wants to spread Islam all over the world to root out western waywardness and moral degeneration. He would like to reduce women to the status of chattel and confine them to the four walls of the home and wage Jihad to convert "infidel" west to bring it under the fold of Islam. Notwithstanding his so-called enlightened moderation it needs to be understood that MMA and Musharraf are like Siamese twins and are inseparable. He and his Foreign Minister must have breathed enormous amount of hot air down the neck, to compel Pakistan FO issue a strong worded reaction to Sammy, the Sandwich scandal.
Senator Samiul Haq's case is not one in isolation. Quite a few Pakistani dignitaries have been subjected to awkward treatments at foreign airports. Its frequency increased in General Ziaul Haq's times. It was both an interesting and an embarrassing sight at the Rome Airport to see trained drug-sniffing dogs doing their job following the landing of General Zia's plane. These were the golden days of drug smuggling when Pakistani planes were invariably searched inside out for heroin. 9/11 has inflicted new dimensions to air travel. And since Pakistan has come to be recognised at the epicentre of international terrorism, Pakistanis irrespective of their positions or vocations are subjected to through searches. MMA leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman had the share of his ordeal at Paris airport. So did Qazi Hussain Ahmad who was refused visa by Holland
By refusing to meet Maulana Samiul Haq, the EU message is clear to Islamabad: it has to create space for genuine political leadership now living in forced exile and pave ground for the return of legitimately elected democratic government.