OUR PARTNER IN THE WAR AGAINST TERROR, PAKISTAN

Pakistanis detain Jewish filmmakers
Pakistani authorities who detained two Swedish filmmakers of Jewish descent for 16 days probed them about their “religious preferences.” Leon Flamholc and his son David, together with Tahir Shaw, a British writer of Afghan origin, were making a film about the Mogul empire when authorities arrested them July 18 in Peshawar, a large city near Afghanistan. Authorities said their 16-day detention and their deportation Wednesday were “lenient” because the men had entered on tourist visas and didn’t have permits to film.

David Flamholc said the men were “blindfolded, held in shackles at gunpoint” and held in cells “stained with blood and excrement,” according to The Associated Press. Some of their interrogators’ questions focused on their religion, he said, apparently because of their Jewish background. British and Swedish diplomatic officials said they were denied access to the men.