A Rare Interview with a Pakistani Migrant in Costa Rica en Route to the U.S. Border
By Todd Bensman on December 18, 2018
PASO CANOAS, Costa Rica – Jawad Ali (pictured on the left) said he hails from the Swat District of Pakistan, a former redoubt of the Pakistani Taliban, a hard-line Islamist militant group that in 2007 took over the district and continues to support the fight with American troops in next door Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban were driven out of the district a few years ago, but the district still labors under the influence of hardline Islamic schools and institutions.
I found Jawad on the border of Panama and Costa Rica with a fellow Pakistani traveler from the same region. Jawad spoke some English, so we were able to have a conversation as he waited for Costa Rican immigration to process him through so he could continue his journey on to the U.S. border. As you will see, Jawad intends to claim political asylum as he has heard numerous friends before him have done successfully.
https://cis.org/Bensman/Rare-Interview-Pakistani-Migrant-Costa-Rica-en-Route-US-Border
