By Mian Zahid Ghani
Resident Director, News Network International, United Nations, New York
Among all the Muslim nations Pakistan proved to be the strongest and the closest ally of the United States. However, it is strange that it is the people of Pakistan who are being targeted by Americans and the American police or immigration agencies.
Racial profiling at police stations has also been part of the backlash against people of Middle Eastern appearance since the September 11 terrorist attacks which have been blamed on Islamic extremists. The police firstly avoid to register cases under the Bias crime code, and if they do sign up, they avoid to make arrests of those involved in the crime.
The same authorities which are reluctant to entertain the complaints of Pakistanis or people from the Middle East have made hundreds of arrests of Pakistanis on the basis of anonymous tips and phone calls. Police and FBI agents numbering from 40 to 60 carry out commando-style raids on the homes of Pakistanis, in the process frightening women and children and pointing guns at their heads.
On September 15 my wife’s brother, a Pakistani citizen, was murdered in Dallas. The police is investigating the murder under hate crimes but has failed to make any arrests. It has also not found any suspects so far.
On Thursday, November 1, I was myself threatened and abused by a motorcyclist . After asking me if I were a Pakistani, the biker began to hurl abuses at me. He said, “Leave my country or I will kill you.”
I reported the matter to the New Brunswick NJ Police. On November 3 the police officer incharge of my complaint called and said that the biker confessed all that I had reported but claimed that whatever he said was in anger and he apologized. The officer wanted me to forgive him so that the case could be closed for good.
I believe that in a civilized society, the law is the same for everybody and that nobody is above law.