Dubai deputy police chief raises Pak hackles with poll over giving missiles to Balochistan

Dubai’s deputy chief of police and public security, Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan has once again kicked up a storm when he tweeted a poll on whether Baloch people in Pakistan should be given missiles to defend themselves. Khalfan’s Twitter poll raised a kerfuffle among social media users as more than 41,000 people participated in the poll, out of which 38.9 per cent said yes while a majority 61 per cent disagreed with him. His tweet came two days after the funeral of 37-year-old Karima Baloch, the activist who was found mysteriously drowned at the Harbour-front waters in Canada’s Toronto in December. 

This is not the first time that Khalfan has expressed his sentiments regarding Pakistan. Back in 2018, he had slammed Pakistan and said that “Pakistanis pose a threat to the Gulf Societies”. He had further even asked his fellow citizens “not to employ Pakistanis” and called it a “national duty” to stop hiring them. His recent poll, on the other hand, comes amidst strained ties between the UAE and Pakistan. It is worth noting that UAE had stopped giving new work visas to the citizens of 13 countries, including Pakistan, last year. 

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UAE-Pakistan relations 

Khalfan is often perceived to be politically incorrect, however, he is a good barometer for judging how people perceive Pakistan in the UAE. Currently, Pakistanis are not welcome in the Arab country owning to the strategic winds blowing in West Asia. With the signing of the Abraham Accords, the UAE has moved closer to Israel and much travel is happening between the nationals of the two countries. 

Meanwhile, Imran Khan government in Pakistan is under pressure from its nationals over the suspension of visas. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's visit to the UAE in December 2020 also did not help resolve matters. He had taken up the issue in the UAE but back then he was told that the visa restrictions were due to the coronavirus pandemic and were temporary. The restrictions on Pakistani nationals visiting the UAE, however, still remain in place. 

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