Monday, Jan 13, 2003
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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
According to several prominent U.S. dailies, a request was made to waive immunity to the Ambassador, Mr. Munir Akram, following an allegation that he had beaten a woman on December 10. The woman, who stays with the Ambassador, claimed that he smashed her head into a wall and that he had hit her before. Later, the woman declined to press charges. However, the district attorney's office wishes to prosecute the Ambassador for misdemeanour charges and has requested waiver of his diplomatic immunity. It is over a week since Washington had made the request, but Islamabad is disinclined to waive diplomatic immunity. The contention of the Pakistan Foreign Office was that the woman in question was not pressing the charges. Privately, senior Foreign Office personnel maintain that they see the U.S. as a campaign to silence Mr. Akram particularly, as he is known to be a vocal critic of U.S. policies. However, at the same time they do concede that the incident has tarnished the image of the country. More important, the controversy could not have come at a more inopportune time as on January 1 Pakistan took its seat in the United Nations Security Council for a term of two years as a non-permanent member. It is to be seen how Islamabad would weather the storm particularly given the insistence of the New York police to prosecute Mr. Akram. Today, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) demanded the withdrawal of Mr. Akram. ``A man who beats up a woman and continues to enjoy Government patronage sets a bad example,'' a spokesman of the party said in a statement today. "The Ambassador is now a symbol of violence against women and must be removed." The spokesman said Benazir Bhutto's Government had outlawed domestic violence and special programmes had been telecast to educate women that violence by male family members was illegal. The spokesman said that it was apprehended that the matter would be played up to embarrass Islamabad further in addition to hurting the sentiments of women. The party alleged that with the overthrow of the PPP Government, Islamabad's image had suffered internationally. ``The death of democracy led to a collapse of institutions and the rise of militias, militants and finally religious parties in positions of importance. Consequently, Pakistanis are being humiliated by having to submit to fingerprints and mug shots despite Islamabad being a key member of the war against terror.'' The party lamented that the Musharraf regime maintained a conspiracy of silence on the shameful incident despite tall claims that it was against abuse of power. The incident came to light due to international press reports. The PPP has called for the immediate recall of Mr. Akram to Islamabad. "The envoy must pay a price for violence against the woman so that the position of women could be protected as envisaged by law against domestic violence.'' It wanted to know why the National Accountability Bureau was silent when the law was trampled. "It appears the NAB is only for political opponents using money that should go for providing jobs and schools and hospitals.''
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