The Foreign Office (FO) of Pakistan on March 11 called Ambassador K K Wagan to Islamabad to explain why he was deported by the US immigration authorities from Los Angeles. In a rather unusual move, the US had earlier asked Wagan to go back to his last port of departure when he landed in the US. Wagan is presently posted as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkmenistan in its capital Asghabat and had a valid US visa when he was turned back.
This is highly embarrassing for Pakistan as one of its top diplomats has been denied entry into the US. “Ambassador K K Wagan was deported from the US. He had an immigration objection which led to his deportation,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said. The official added that Ambassador Wagan had all necessary travel documents when he was asked to go back from the US. It is being said that Wagan had travelled to Los Angeles for a personal visit when he was stopped by US immigration authorities upon arrival.
(The State Department had announced a visa restriction policy targeting foreign officials and others facilitating illegal migration into the US. In a statement made some days ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said the new visa restrictions will apply to “foreign government officials, including immigration and customs officials’’ who are believed to be responsible for “knowingly facilitating illegal immigration to the United States”.)
The officials then forced him to return to his last port of departure, raising concerns about diplomatic protocol and the nature of the decision. The US immigration system flagged Wagan over “controversial visa references,” and this led to his immediate deportation. It is not clear as to what specific issues or concerns led to this response.
Incidentally, at one time, Wagan had remained posted as Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of Pakistan in Los Angeles itself from where he was deported, according to Dawn.
Diplomatic staff of Pakistan had approached the US State Department for clarity on the subject some days ago. This after there were reports in a section of the media regarding travel curbs being imposed on all Pakistani citizens on entry to the US. Last week, an agency report had suggested that Pakistan may also be included in a list of countries whose citizens would be barred from entering the US.
The last week’s report regarding a possible crackdown on illegal immigration had named Pakistan and Afghanistan as countries whose citizens could face severe travel restrictions. The move is reminiscent of US President Donald Trump’s first tenure when he had put ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries. There were some minor changes in the policy over the years but it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Alarmed at the impending travel restrictions, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, had issued a warning last week. As a precautionary measure, it had cautioned lawful permanent residents, students, workers and other immigrants legally in the US to avoid leaving the country over the one month at least.
People of Pakistani origin often travel to their home country in large numbers to mark Eid which this year would be falling on March 30 or 31. Fearing travel curbs, not many Pakistanis, and nationals of other Muslim nations, may leave the US for Eid celebrations.
The CAIR’s advisory says potential countries targeted by the new ban “could include Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Palestine/Gaza, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan,Syria, Yemen or any other country”.
