Pakistan boycotts U.N. meeting after U.S. visa delay for Islamist politician

by Dramelin 6:30 AM 0 comments

ISLAMABAD The failure of Pakistan`s Senate deputy chairman, a prominent Islamist politician, to get a U.S. visa on time for a trip to the United States prompted Pakistan to boycott a U.N.-sponsored meeting on Monday, a parliamentary official said. Pakistan`s Express Tribune newspaper reported on Sunday that Haideri had applied for the visa two weeks before his planned trip. Drawing much of its support from Pakistan`s network of religious schools, called madrassas, the JUI-F is one of Pakistan`s largest Islamist parties dedicated to imposing Islamic law in Pakistan through elections. Last month, in response to a question about the visa policy toward Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Trump told ABC News:"We`re going to have extreme vetting in all cases. It can take weeks for Pakistanis to get a U.S. visa under normal circumstances.