Pakistani leader's visit a surprise
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Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari attends an economic forum earlier this week in Rome. The Associated Press |
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By Cristina Kumka Staff Writer - Published: October 2, 2009
DANBY — Some residents of this mountain town were on alert Saturday afternoon as the president of Pakistan and other dignitaries were whisked through by the Secret Service, headed for the private home of resident and investment firm head Nicholas Ihasz, a federal agent and Ihasz confirmed Thursday.
President Asif Ali Zardari of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan flew into the state and was afforded federal protection when he landed, according to Steven Ricciardi, special agent in charge of the security detail and services throughout New England.
"Part of his itinerary was in Danby, Vermont," Ricciardi said from his Boston, Mass., field office Thursday, declining to reveal where the president landed or what other agencies were involved in securing the head of state.
Dave Carman, manager of Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport in North Clarendon said, "things that involve security, we can't talk about."
Ihasz, who lives on Danby Hill Road, said, "We had some dignitaries for lunch … but I really can't comment on it."
Oliver Ihasz is the town's constable, principal broker of Danby Mountain Properties and Nicholas Ihasz's brother.
He said the visit was "nonpolitical" and the president came to visit his brother as a friendly gesture after his trip last week to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
The motorcade came through town at 2:30 p.m. and was gone by about 6 p.m., Oliver Ihasz said.
"He went there to see one of his friends," said Nadeem Kiani, press minister at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Zardari flew out of Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J., and it was his first trip to Vermont, according to Kiani.
"This was a private, nonofficial visit," he said.
Vermont State Police Lt. David Notte referred all questions to the Secret Service.
However downplayed, the out-of-place vehicles heightened some residents' awareness of who was in town.
One Danby resident said she saw men in suits driving black cars that looked like government vehicles, then parking them in the heart of town, outside Alice's Someday Café.
"A couple of them went to the café," said Terry Parker, owner of the neighboring Quail's Nest Bed & Breakfast.
"It must have been low-key," she said. "Usually if there is something going on in Danby, everybody knows it."
The town clerk's office didn't know about the visit and the town fire chief said he didn't know either.
Bob Kosmalski of McClellan's Garage and Auto Sales said he saw the parade of black cars and police traveling through Wallingford to Danby.
"It was big … a bunch of black limos," he said.
Currier Memorial School Principal Helen Richards-Peelle said, "I thought they were fighting wars there."
Zardari, elected to the presidency in Sept. 2008, attended the morning session of the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 25, a day before arriving in Danby, according to a schedule posted on the United Nation's Web site.
He is co-chairman of the dominant Pakistan People's Party, a political movement continued by his late wife and former Prime Miinister Benazir Bhutto. Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007.
According to a biography posted on the Pakistan Herald's Web site, Zardari is one of the richest men in Pakistan with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion in 2005.
Zardari was jailed for at least 11 years on corruption and murder allegations, although no charge was levied, according to the embassy Web site and related sites.
Nicholas Ihasz is president of the Danby-based investment firm Absolute Return Advisors.
cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com
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