ISLAMABAD: The US embassy in Islamabad has compromised diplomatic norms, the Abbottabad Commission report on the operation against Osama bin Laden says.
The report says that apart from several other acts, the US embassy dispatched four to five Land Cruisers carrying personnel to participate in the Abbottabad assassination mission. The expansion and reconstruction of the US embassy in Islamabad may pave the way for deeper US penetration in Pakistan, the commission has said.
The commission said that instead of allowing unaccountable institutions to deal with the Americans, it must be ensured that the laws of land are followed while allowing construction and on other issues related to embassies.
The commission concluded that the role of the US embassy had compromised diplomatic norms and customs associated with the working of an embassy.
“Its hiring of approximately 370 houses in Islamabad supported with a motor pool for use by CIA operatives, without informing the Foreign Office; declaring a criminal killer such as Allen Raymond Davis as a diplomat and seeking diplomatic immunity for him when he was in fact a CIA agent; not cooperating with the Punjab Police in handing over the drivers belonging to their consulate in Lahore who ran over and killed an innocent Pakistani; its dispatch of four to five Land Cruisers carrying personnel to participate in the Abbottabad assassination mission, etc represent activities inconsistent with a diplomatic mission’s status and obligations,” the commission’s report says.
“The alarming expansion and reconstruction of the US embassy in Islamabad may pave the way for deeper US penetration in Pakistan. It must be ensured that official channels are employed and such matters are not left to the discretion of unaccountable institutions.”
Internews
