Undercover armed Americans are swarming the Pakistani capital in the latest sign that the pro-US government has allowed Washington to dispatch a large number of American special operations agents and contractual security guards. Including the infamous Blackwater private militia.This comes at a time when whistleblowers within the government and the military are reporting the arrival of a large number of US Marines in Pakistan. Some reports put the figure at 1,000 US soldiers, much of whom are thought to be arriving as part of the massive expansion of the US Embassy and four consulates across the country. The expanded US embassy is supposed to become the largest US embassy in the world.
The latest evidence of the growing American military presence in the Pakistani capital is the arrest of four Americans carrying automatic weapons in a part of the Pakistani capital that foreigners seldom visit.
The four were arrested in Sector G-9 of Islamabad in the evening of Saturday, Aug. 29.
A police picket stopped two cars carrying the four Americans who refused to explain why they were carrying sophisticated automatic weapons in the capital city. They were taken to a police station for interrogation but were released when two retired Pakistani army officers reached the station and threatened police officers of dire consequences.
The police established that the four Americans carried diplomatic status and were part of the US embassy staff. According to Geneva Convention that covers diplomatic missions, the security of diplomats is the responsibility of the host country.
When I asked Richard Snelsire, US embassy spokesman in Islamabad, about the incident, he refused to comment and referred me to the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistani police.
“Do you US diplomats normally carry weapons?” I asked.
Mr. Snelsire’s reply was, “Only if they are licensed to do so by the [Pakistani] government.”
The spokesman’s reaction confirms suspicions that US private security guards are active in Pakistan. For obvious reasons these guards do not come under the cover of US Department of State employees in Pakistan. This could be one reason why US embassy spokesperson declined comment on the story.
There is strong evidence that the private US mercenary army, Blackwater, has also established office in the Pakistani capital. Authorities have received several complaints of ill mannered military-type westerners misbehaving or recklessly driving by.
The Pakistani capital was the scene of at least two incidents recently where armed American diplomats verbally and physically assaulted Pakistani police officers. In one case, newspapers called for expelling an armed US diplomat who cursed and swore at the host country. The Pakistani government, which is known to be pro-American, refused to take action.
US hiring Ex-Army Officers as Consultants (Under the Pakistan Army Act (1952), these officers are in violation of
