On July 22, 2005 a Brazilian national Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by police at Stockwell tube station in London, England. He was shot in the head at close range by Metropolitan Police who misidentified him as a suicide bomber about to explode a device on the London Underground.
Within hours police discovered that he was not involved in any terrorist act, but was actually an innocent victim. The reaction of the Brazilian public was overwhelmingly negative. Protests and demonstrations were held in Brazil and all over the world where Brazilian nationals were living. The family of deceased Charles launched a campaign against unjust killing and made the UK Govt to bow on their knees. And Brazilian Govt built such a pressure on UK Govt that the Metropolitan Police of London had to accept “full responsibility” for the death of Jean Charles de Menezes.
Ultimately, John Yates, the Metropolitan police’s deputy assistant commissioner himself flew to Brazil to meet relatives of Jean Charles de Menezes in his hometown of Gonzaga to pay £560,000′ as compensation money.
On the other hand, on April 08, 2009, 11 Pakistani students were arrested in north west England in connection with an alleged terror plot. The arrests really create a panic in the families and many other parents who are planning to send their children for higher studies as UK known to be a very popular destination of Pakistan students. “It is unjust to arrest Naseer, whose only sin was that he was a Pakistani Muslim with a long beard who prays regularly,” father of one of arrested students said.
These all Pakistani students are genuine students and went to Britain on genuine student visas. Without any prove these arrested students are dubbed as terrorist as PM Gordon Brown termed their arrest as a “very big terrorist plot”. This desperate move comes after it has been clearly revealed that the British police have nabbed the students without any tangible evidence.
A reporter quoted a high ranking British intelligence officer saying that the students from the outlook seemed suspicious, living in groups and were seen photographing different places in UK. The media trial of these students was conducted and no stone left unturned to convict them terrorists but no charge could be proven against these Pakistani nationals residing in UK on valid documents.
The half hearted efforts made by the Pakistani govt over the unjust victimization of Pakistani students don’t match to the standing of a nuclear sovereign state. But the real sad development is the fact, that our diplomatic staff in UK seems paralyzed. I say this for the fact that they failed to secure access to the detained students in early few days.
In Britain, we have nearly 1 million Pakistanis and in total 2 million Muslims but no effective move was witnessed in support of these arrested students. Following the arrest of these students Gordon Brown couldn’t resist saying that “2/3rd of terror plots probed in UK originated from Pakistan” and Pakistan as usual was seen justifying his efforts to cub terrorism.
The UK Home Office is now seeking to deport ten of them, all Pakistani nationals who are currently in immigration custody, on the ground that they pose a risk to national security. Isn’t a double standard approach of UK Govt that to conceal its own embracement it is playing with the future of these Pakistani students. Is the blood of Pakistanis so cheap that the lives of 12 Pakistani students don’t worth the life of one Brazilian Technician? Isn’t really saddening that a small unarmed country can push UK to pay the compensation for his citizen but a country armed with nuclear and best Army can’t force the same country to forgo its bid to deport them. We have to rethink our priorities otherwise Pakistani nationals will prove to easy escape goat for the rage of any tom dic and harry. Latest Pakistan’s refusal to issue visas to a team of British officials who were supposed to visit Islamabad to facilitate signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both the countries on extradition of unwanted, suspicious persons is really exemplary step by our Govt and only such independent decision will guarantee the protection of our citizens.
