Islamabad:
On Foreign Relations Tuesday, he was investigating an incident in which the Pakistani ambassador to Turkmenistan, Ahsan Wagan, was denied entry to the United States and sent back by the US authorities.
In a statement, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that Wagan was not in an official visit to the United States, but that he was traveling privately.
“Responding to media speculation about non -entry and the return of a Pakistani diplomat of the United States.
The statement did not specify why the Pakistani diplomat was denied the entrance, but urged people to avoid speculation on the matter.
The incident occurred on Monday at Los Angeles International Airport in California.
Ahsan Wagan comes from Naushahro Feroze, Sindh, and joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1996. After serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during his early career, he was published as the second secretary at the Pakistani Embassy in Katmandu, Nepal (2000–2004).
Wagan has also previously served in the United States. From 2006 to 2009, he was the consul attached at the Pakistani consulate in Los Angeles.
He later served as Deputy Director of Mission in Oman (2009-2013) and as Chief of Mission at the Pakistan Embassy in Niger (2015-2019).
After this, he was appointed Pakistan ambassador to Muscat (2019-2022). After returning to Islamabad in 2022, he served as general director of Pakistani abroad, consular matters and the crisis management unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Diplomatic sources have described the “unprecedented” incident, since Wagan had complete documentation, the entrance was still denied.
A source of FO told Express PAkGazette that, since Wagan was in a private visit, he did not enjoy diplomatic privileges.
The source explained that if a diplomat travels on an official visit, he receives a protocol, but otherwise, they are not granted diplomatic privileges.
However, the source confirmed that Wagan had informed and obtained permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before traveling to the United States. It is mandatory that any diplomat seeks prior approval before visiting another country in a private capacity.
According to the sources, to detain a diplomat in this way suggests the presence of a “red flag”, which is currently under investigation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
They also pointed out that even with a valid visa, the United States immigration officers have the authority to allow or deny entry to a traveler.
The Wagan case has emerged in the midst of reports that Pakistan could be included in a list of countries subject to a possible prohibition of traveling in the United States.
However, no official announcement has been made.
The Reuters news agency, citing Fuentes, reported that Pakistan was among the countries considered for the ban. However, the Minister of Right and Barrister of Justice was dismissed on Monday the reports, insisting that they were not true.
