Today German federal police seized two suspected terrorists from a Dutch passenger aircraft [KL 1804] at Cologne airport shortly before it was due to take off for Amsterdam. Sources say the two suspects were on their way to join terrorists in Uganda and Pakistan.
The suspects were a 23-year-old Somalian identified as Abdirazak and a 24-year old German citizen born in Somalia called Omar were "under suspicion of participating in a jihad action and of possibly planning attacks" and had found farewell letters
Firstly don't get me wrong but I firmly believe that all terrorists must be apprehended in time and put behind bars well before they have a chance to hurt innocent human lives, but what irks me is when the international media conveniently loops Pakistan into every terror plot
Allow me to explain, the flight that these two suspects were expected to board was a KLM City Hopper flight from Cologne to Amsterdam, which is actually a Fokker 50. This Fokker flight has a maximum carrying capacity of 67 passengers and at full fuel load has a flight range of only 1243 miles, a far cry from Uganda which stands at 3800 miles from Cologne or more importantly Pakistan which clocks in at 3600 miles from Cologne
If these are the actual facts, then one might suspect that it would be physically impossible to reach either one of the two destinations, but as most news agencies still continue to report that Pakistan was a planned destination after hijacking the plane is worrisome, specially for a Pakistan. The only sign of relief comes from Reuters suggesting that the suspects had no concrete plans for hijacking "We still believe we are caught in the cross-hairs of terrorism but there are no indications of concrete preparations for an attack," - well my question then to the world media is to ask how in the world, did they bring 'Pakistan' into the conversation, might I suspect sensationalization
As a Pakistani, I Object to this form of false reporting by the Main Stream Media it has only tarnished the image of my country, I feel that unless the authorities come up with concrete evidence indicating Pakistan in their great master plan, it would be honorable [?] of the media to issue a courtesy retraction for Pakistan saving us from unnecessary news spin. many may ask, does it matter? For Pakistan it must, as we don't need yet another unnecessary flame war tarnishing the already tainted image of our country simply based on false reporting, we have enough problems as it is
Source: Teeth Maestro
Pakistan cannot be responsible for hijacking in other countries unless it can be proved that we had something to do with it. If somebody wants to hijack an aircraft and bring it to Pakistan, he should beware that we have the death penalty for hijacking. Normally, the government does not even permit such aircraft to enter our air space.
I agree with DrSivana that 'Pakistan cannot be responsible for hijacking in other countries unless it can be proven', and I agree with drawab's comments (and understand the frustration). However, I think the comment by techie is quite a naive generalization (i.e. believing/implying the American media is completely full of lies and the BBC is always completely honest). Also, if you notice, drawab says 'the international media conveniently loops Pakistan into every terror plot'.
The changing climate in Pakistan is very complicated and extremely unfortunate because there are so many amazing and lovely Pakistanis. Generalizations are very dangerous, and we need to always be mindful of that. Even if an incident occurs within their country, blaming Pakistanis in general is the wrong thing to do (for example, it's as unfair as blaming all the Basques for what ETA does since ETA doesn't represent the majority of the people's sentiment). Pakistan is our friend and ally, and if the feeling isn't mostly mutual, we need to work on diplomacy and understanding. In cooperation with them hopefully, we'll find/isolate those within the country or nearby who are doing the damage to what is a beautiful country (and as drawab states 'tarnishing' the country's image/reputation).
My other comment is related to generalizations about Americans. Just as Pakistanis don't appreciate the generalizations being made about their country/people in relation to terrorism, I'm tired of people bashing America constantly especially when they're living here and taking advantage of what we do have to offer. If you hate America so much, do us all a favor and leave. There are many things I dislike about our American culture, but there are things I love and respect. And if I'm going to live here, I need to embrace the beautiful things and help make a difference in the areas that need change. The most important point is that all of humanity needs to raise its level of consciousness and evolve to become better human beings. Americans aren't perfect (nor is the gov't), but let me save you the suspense; neither is everyone else.
Completely agree with Go Green. The enemy is stereotyping and its extreme form of xenophobia -- of the Taliban Kind or the Bush Kind.
Teeth Maestro is right -- mass media (as much Pakistani as international) has been maligning Pakistan since ages. But that should not deter us from priority number one: getting rid of the terrorists within us. Am reiterating this point made by the Maestro himself because that clarity of thought is not widespread enough in Pakistan. 70% of poll respondents dislike USA foreign policy; but priority number one is priority number one. The Marriott Bombing gave me that clarity of thought.
With 911 and 7-7 traced to Pakistan, there is going to be "collateral damage" with other things thrown the way of the "Primary Suspect." As long as it increases the urgency to root out this menace in Pakistan and also economically revive Pakistan at the same time.