Clearance of Pak journalists not timely completed: State Dept
WASHINGTON: “The Secret Service has investigated the matter and determined that background cheeks and clearance were not completed in a timely manner regarding certain members of the (Pakistani) press that were denied entrance to the White House,” the Department of State said in a formal diplomatic note to the Pakistan government on January 22, 1999.
According to a copy of the note obtained by this correspondent, the State Department took full responsibility for the delay. It said: “The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan was not at all at fault. The Secret Service has apologised for the error.’ US officials have informally conveyed their regrets regarding the denial of entry to some journalists who came to Washington to cover the December 2 visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. However, this is the first formal apology at the conclusion of an official investigation.
The diplomatic note has classified the journalists according to category of reasons:
“1) The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan submitted the names of Malik Zahoor Ahmad, Counselor (Press) and Arif Nizami (The Nation) for clearance to the White House on time; and, therefore, the embassy was not at fault for the denial of their entry to the White House.
“2) On November 24, the names of Rahimullah Yusufzai (The News) and Abdul Qadir Qureshi (APP) were submitted without identifying data (date and place of birth and passport number).
This additional information was submitted on November 26, a holiday. Although three working days then passed before the December 2 meeting occurred, the United States
Secret Service was unable to obtain clearance for these individuals. The embassy had sent a formal note to Islamabad on November 12, 1998, asking for complete background information. The high-powered advance team arrived in Washington almost 10 days ahead of the December 2 visit, but did not furnish adequate information.
“3) The names of Khushnood Khan (Khabrain) and Mateen Haider (ANN) were not submitted in advance.”
According to one embassy source, the name of Khushnood Ali Khan was received very late, but he was later cleared. However, he had left the White House and was busy filing stories and chose not to return because it was too late. Mateen Haider was not an official in the press party, but had wished to join at the last minute.
Earlier, the Department of Treasury also had expressed its regrets over the incident in a letter to the ‘Committee to Protect Journalists’. The Secret Service is under the Treasury Department. “The Secret Service has examined the actions which led up to this incident. I want to assure you that we deeply regret the fact that certain members of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s official party were prevented from completing their assignments,” H Terence Samway, Assistant Director, Office of Government Liaison and Public Affairs, said in a letter to the Committee. Pointing out that every month 40,000 visitors to the White House are processed for security clearance, the letter acknowledges: “Even with this volume, the names, which were submitted by the Embassy of Pakistan in a timely manner, should have been completed in advance of the prime minister’s visit to the White House. They were not for that we apologize.”
Source: The News
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