‘Tug of war’ between the US diplomats & Local Security Intensifies:

Diplomats’ repeated efforts to enter Peshawar foiled;

‘No entry in Peshawar without NOC’: Bilour

Seven US officials were stopped from entering Peshawar because they ware not having ‘No Objection Certificates (NOCs) on Wednesday Morning.

US embassy in Islamabad has expressed its serious concern over this matter in a statement issued Wednesday saying, “We are monitoring this matter closely.”

According to media reports the vehicles were sent back to Islamabad for not having the complete documents.

Security officials have said that without the NOC nobody can enter the Peshawar territory. Americans were travelling in three Land Cruisers and have been making repeated attempts to enter Peshawar without NOC.

Senior Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Bashir Ahmad Bilour who was addressing a ceremony in Peshawar on Wednesday, referring to this incident has said, “We are a sovereign state and nobody can dictate us. We have clearly told the Americans that without NOC you cannot enter the Peshawar territory.”

It is pertinent to mention here that a similar incident happened on Tuesday when an American Embassy Vehicle tried to enter Peshawar coming from Islamabad and was stopped and returned at Motorway Toll Plaza Peshawar. This was followed by a Peshawar based American Consulate’s vehicle that tried to access Islamabad without the necessary documentation and prior approval of the concerned authorities.

The recurring of such incidents is a clear sign of the ‘tug-of-war’ going on between the Local Security and law enforcement organizations and the American Diplomats. The diplomats want to access every place of Pakistan and deem it their right to do so as they were freely allowed to move before the Raymond Davis issue. However, in the post-Raymond scenario the things have taken a u-turn and the Americans yet to understand it.