KARACHI: Pakistani woman athlete and journalist Mona Khan, who was arrested in Greece this week, has been released from prison, she said on Sunday, a day after the Pakistani Foreign Office said its mission was actively engaged with Greek authorities on the case.
Khan said she was stopped by Greek officials at a checkpoint on Friday afternoon, when she was going to Mount Olympus along with a team of climbers, and upon checking her passport, Greek authorities held her for investigation, from where they took her to jail.
The athlete, who also works with Pakistan’s state TV as a host and participated in the Athens marathon last year, said she wanted to wave the Pakistan flag and Kalima Tayyaba, a profession of the Islamic faith written on a cloth piece that means “there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,” on the highest mountain peak in Greece, some 433 kilometers away from Athens.
On Saturday, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Office, told Arab News the Pakistani mission in Athens was actively engaged with Greek officials to secure the release of the Pakistani athlete.
Speaking to Arab News after her release on Sunday, the Pakistani athlete said her release was “conditional” even though she had violated no rules of the host country, while she would also not be able to return to Greece for five years.
“They arrested me just when they saw my Pakistani passport and later questioned me when they found Kalima Tayyaba in my bag,” Khan said. “I am completely clueless as to why they arrested me, deprived me of a chance to accomplish my goal, and then asked me to leave.”
She said she was asked to sign documents that she would not enter another European country despite having visas and would return to Pakistan within 20 days.
“It’s my right to know what laws I have violated,” Khan said. “I was there for a healthy activity, but what happened to me caused me mental stress.”
Greek authorities have not issued any statement on Khan’s detention, while the Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson did not respond, when asked about reasons for her detention and whether Pakistan planned to lodge a protest with Greek authorities in case Khan had not violated any laws of the host country.
“Jailed for doing nothing and just because of being Pakistani,” Khan said, after reuniting with her son, who was waiting for her to return after completing the mission to wave the Pakistani flag and the Islamic scripture on Mount Olympus.
“He asked for the video where I was supposed to wave the flag. I didn’t end his excitement and didn’t tell him about my ordeal.”
Greek authorities release Pakistani woman athlete after two-day detention
https://arab.news/vja6e
Greek authorities release Pakistani woman athlete after two-day detention
- Mona Khan, who also works with Pakistan state TV, was arrested on Friday while going to Greece’s Mount Olympus with a team of climbers
- Pakistani athlete says she was arrested ‘due to her Pakistani identity, questioned about a written profession of Islamic faith in her bag’
Peace can only prevail if Afghanistan renounces support for ‘terrorism’— Pakistan defense chief
- Pakistan’s chief of defense forces visits South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan
- Pakistan says has killed 481 Afghan Taliban operatives since clashes began last Thursday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Wednesday that peace with Afghanistan can only prevail if Kabul renounces support for “terrorism” and “terrorist” organizations, the military’s media wing said as the two countries remain locked in conflict.
Fighting between the two neighbors, the worst in decades, broke out last Thursday night after Afghan forces attacked Pakistan’s military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said its attacks were in response to earlier airstrikes by Pakistan against alleged militant hideouts in its country.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its soil who have launched attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces in recent years. Kabul denies the allegations.
Munir visited Wana town in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district to review the security situation and troops’ operational preparedness at the Afghan border, the Pakistani military’s media wing said in a statement.
“The Field Marshal reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organizations,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The military chief said the use of Afghan soil by militant outfits to launch attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable, vowing that “all necessary measures” would be taken to neutralize cross-border threats.
During the visit, Munir was briefed by military commanders about ongoing intelligence-based operations and measures being taken by the military to manage the border with Afghanistan.
He was also briefed about “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” or “Wrath for the Truth,” the name Pakistan has given to its military operation against Afghan forces, the ISPR said.
The Pakistani military chief spoke to troops deployed in the area, praising their vigilance, professional conduct and high morale, the ISPR said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the military has killed 481 Taliban operatives, injured more than 690 and destroyed 226 Afghan checkposts since clashes began.
Arab News has been unable to verify claims by both sides about the damages they claim to have inflicted on each other.
Afghanistan has signaled it is open for dialogue but Pakistan rejected the offer, saying it would continue its military operations till its objectives were achieved.
Since the conflict began, diplomatic efforts have intensified with several countries, including global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help reinstate a ceasefire, the Turkish Presidency said on Tuesday, as other countries that had offered to mediate have since been hit by the conflict in the Gulf.
