A latest brand of universal blinkered pariah leadership which is hated by the moderates and unwelcome and undesirable in comity of civilized nations,, a new entrant in the club of the pariahs..
UAE bars Pakistan opposition head
Maulana Fazlur Rahman had been heading to Saudi Arabia
The leader of the opposition in Pakistan's National Assembly has been refused entry to Dubai as his name was on a United Arab Emirates blacklist.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman was stopped at Dubai's international airport and was likely to be deported, Pakistan's information minister said.
Mr Rehman is general secretary of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a six-party religious alliance.
The outspoken and hardline cleric had been heading on to Saudi Arabia.
Staunch critic
Mr Rehman told the BBC's Urdu service that he was surprised at being included on the UAE government blacklist.
"When I applied for a visa to visit the United Arab Emirates, the embassy held on to my passport for several days, which gives me the impression that they must have sought clearance from the authorities before issuing the visa," Mr Rehman said.
A spokesman for Pakistan's foreign ministry said Mr Rehman was initially given permission to leave the airport following the intervention of Pakistan's ambassador in the UAE, but later that decision was revoked.
The spokesman, Nayeem Khan, said Mr Rehman had now decided to return to Pakistan.
Mr Rehman, leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Islamic Party of Religious Leaders - JUI), was taking a two-day break in Dubai before heading to Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, said Mr Rehman was expected back on Tuesday morning but had no knowledge why he had been turned away.
Mr Rehman was a strong supporter of Afghanistan's ousted Taleban regime and has been a staunch critic of President Pervez Musharraf's policy of backing the US-led "war on terror". |
