No harm in undergoing security check at airports, says PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has dismissed the criticism on his security check at an airport in the United States of America during his recent private visit and said there was no harm in following the rules and regulations of the country and to undergo such screening.

The video of PM Abbasi undergoing routine security check at the US airport went viral on the social media a week ago, prompting online debate on ‘mistreatment’ of the Pakistan’s dignitary, while some asserted that it’s a rule of foreign soil [US] that everyone must abide by.

One user who shared the video on Facebook captioned it: “Our Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi being searched / scanned at US airport… Why Americans are not dealt at Pakistan accordingly??”

Talking to media, the prime minister said he could have asked for the US security but he did not, and opted to undergo the routine security check.

He told media that everyone needed to obey the security protocols and mentioned that former US president George Bush had also undergone the same process.

Here’s the video circulating on the social media

 

Prime Minister Abbasi said he had been going through security checks at airports during his foreign trips in last 30 years.

He said during the visit, he got the opportunity to meet US Vice President Mike Pence along with Pakistan’s Defence Attaché in Washington.

To a question about the state of the national economy, the prime minister said the sit-in had dragged the country back by many years. The ‘Dawn Leaks’ and Panama cases also badly impacted the national economy, he added.

About the devaluation of the Pakistan Rupee, he said it should be at its actual value.

He reiterated the stance that those, who had bought their way into the Senate, would undermine the House as well as the democracy. Such senators and the Senate chairman should give a written declaration that they were not involved in horse-trading, he added.

Responding to another question, the prime minister said only the areas falling under high loss feeders were facing the load-shedding of two to eight hours or those facing technical issues. However, there was sufficient electricity in the national system to cope with the needs.