Dear editor,
I am writing this letter to record our protest to the British ambassador in Seoul about the humiliation and misconduct to the 11 Pakistani students who were arrested in Britain on April 8 on charges of planning for terrorism.
When these arrests were made it was claimed that British police had uncovered a big terrorist plot that was being planned in Britain. A media trial was on air against Pakistan, a country that is paying the price of the so-called war against terrorism.
Nothing had been proved and now they are facing deportation ― but on what basis? Security of the British public is necessary, but from those who pose a threat. These students were on legal student visas and studying in their respective universities, which had no complaint about the action and behavior of these students.
It is just because they were from Pakistan. Is this the price which our people will pay for the war against so-called terrorism?
Being a Pakistani, I know how the students from middle-class families manage to collect resources for higher education abroad, especially in Britain. They almost spend $10,000 to get visas and complete other formalities. This money is the savings of a middle-class family.
Dear ambassador, just imagine about a person who spent his whole savings for a bright future and lost his all due to crimes that he never committed. He was punished for an action that he never supported.
Rather than taking action against those officers who provided such wrong information, deporting students cannot be justified. What will their future be back in Pakistan after losing money and with shattered hopes for a bright future?
We Pakistani students in South Korea strongly protest this incident and request that at least they should be allowed to finish their study, and demand an apology from the British government.
Wasif Farooq