US Pushes For Visa Control On Pakistani Britons

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 5-3-2007 | Alex Spillius

[blam]

US pushes for visa control on Pakistani Britons

By Alex Spillius in Washington and Philip Johnston
Last Updated: 2:05am BST 03/05/2007

Travel restrictions could be imposed by America on 800,000 British citizens of Pakistani origin because of concerns about terrorism, it emerged yesterday.

The move has been prompted by fears that British Muslim men were behind several major bomb plots.

On Monday, five men - four with Pakistani backgrounds - were convicted of plotting to attack a shopping centre, a nightclub and other targets with home-made fertiliser bombs. Last summer, MI5 foiled an alleged plot for suicide attacks on transatlantic aircraft.

The Americans have been concerned that their principal security risk could actually come from Britain, with whom they operate a visa waiver scheme. Since 2004, Britons travelling to the US do not need a visa if they have a machine-readable passport issued since 1991.

Michael Chertoff, the US homeland security secretary, has reportedly told the Government that British Pakistanis should apply for a visa before travelling to America.

The Foreign Office said last night any such plan would be resisted although the Americans would be entitled to introduce a new visa regime unilaterally.

Last month, Mr Chertoff told The Daily Telegraph that America was vulnerable to Muslim citizens of Britain and other European countries mounting terrorist attacks. Terrorists such as the four July 7 bombers - three of whom were of Pakistani origin - could have used the waiver scheme to enter the US.

"We need to build layers of protection and I don't think we totally want to rely upon the fact that a foreign government is going to know that one of their citizens is suspicious and is going to be coming here," he said. Bruce Riedel, senior fellow at the American think-tank the Brookings Institution, echoed his concerns.

Omar Khyam, the leader of the plotters convicted on Monday, was, he said, "the classic UK-Pakistani connection that al-Qa'eda has focused on since 9/11. His UK passport gives him international nobility. His training at a camp run for Kashmiris by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency gives him expertise. Al-Qa'eda gives him direction."

An estimated 400,000 trips a year are made by Britons of Pakistani origin to their ancestral homeland.

A Foreign Office spokesman said last night that any attempt to divide British citizens along ethnic lines would cause a massive diplomatic row.

"The Muslim community, including those of Pakistani origin, are an important part of our society and we would oppose strongly any proposal to single them out in response to the actions of terrorists," he said.

"We are in close touch with the US about entry clearance and they are aware of our view that changes to the visa waiver programme could cause economic damage to both our countries without materially enhancing the security controls over immigration. The visa waiver programme is certainly not a 'loophole', given the close co-operation between our security agencies."

The Foreign Office said many British Muslims were already put off travelling to America for fear of an unwelcome reception. People of Pakistani or south Asian background are routinely picked out for special "secondary" searches and checks.

The visa talks, disclosed by the New York Times, are believed to have been under way for months. Mr Chertoff met John Reid, the Home Secretary, in London last month for what were thought to have been discussions about the waiver scheme.

The Homeland Security Department is understood to be waiting until Mr Blair, a friend and ally of President George W Bush, leaves office before revealing its plans.

It would be almost impossible to establish who was of Pakistani background.

Anyone over 60 would have been born in India, because the state of Pakistan did not come into being before Partition in 1947.

Shahid Malik, Labour MP for Dewsbury, said: "This idea is ill-conceived and ultimately it will probably prove counter-productive."

[blam]

I have no confidence that common sense will prevail.

[hophead]

Any nation that cedes the right and indeed, obligation, to control who enters and leaves their country is a country who has lost their sovernty, security and soul.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I really don’t see the need to let anyone in for a while.

[Steely Tom]

"Cries of racisim, eventual capitualtion, and a big fat nasty surprise."

[Cicero]

British Pakistanis could still visit the US. They would just have to apply for and receive a visa after being cleared of suspicions of terrorism.

But I’m not sure how they will do implement this policy without running into all sorts of objections to racial discrimination and profiling. They may need to require all Brits to get visas.

[GOP_1900AD]

Let there be profiling ....

[river rat]

Now that the left has succeeded in making “profiling” based on ethnic or racial behavior an evil act instead of a prudent act, there is no way any particularly virulent strain of human beast — such as Islamists, Pakistani, Sunni Wahhabi clerics, etc, etc.... will be declared “persona non grata”