News

St Louis Football Franchise Rams to be sold to Pakistani American Businessman

Rams owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez have entered into a signed agreement to sell the team to Shahid Khan.  Khan, 55, is the president of Flex-N-Gate Corp., an auto-parts manufacturer based in Urbana, Ill. Khan has lived in the Champaign-Urbana area for more than 40 years and is married with two adult children. Khan is a graduate of the School of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois.

According to league sources, Khan will purchase the 60 percent of the team owned by siblings Rosenbloom and Rodriguez, who inherited the franchise from their late mother, Georgia Frontiere, in early 2008. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Khan is purchasing a 60 percent stake in the team, which is estimated to be worth $725 million to $950 million, according to the Chicago Tribune. NFL owners must approve the sale.  The Rams owners and Khan won't close on the deal until sometime next month. Read more

President Obama names Rashad Hussain  as US Envoy to Islamic World

President Barack Obama named a new special envoy to the world’s largest Islamic organization in a bid to forge closer ties with the Muslim world.

Rashad Hussain, who currently serves as White House deputy associate counsel, will be special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Obama announced in a video message to the seventh annual U.S. Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses the forum tomorrow.

“The U.S. and Muslims around the world have often slipped into a cycle of misunderstanding and mistrust that can lead to conflict rather than cooperation,” Obama said, calling for a “new beginning” in relations.

Obama’s message, leading off the three-day forum, reflects administration efforts to reinforce his maiden speech to the Muslim world June 4, 2009, in Cairo, where called for “a new beginning” among people to break what he called then a “cycle of suspicion and discord.”

The administration’s goal is to lift U.S. standing with Muslims as the White House is trying to renew the Middle East peace process, wage war against Islamic insurgents in two countries, and battle to choke off support for al-Qaeda and other terrorists.

In his June 2009 remarks, Obama reminded the audience that his father was from a Muslim family and he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation.

In the video today, Obama said his administration has “made a sustained effort to listen” to Muslims, and that he’ll do that again next month when he visits Indonesia. Read More

Afghan Offensive Is New War Model

For all the fighting that lies ahead over the next several days, no one doubts that the American and Afghan troops swarming into the Taliban redoubt of Marja will ultimately clear it of insurgents.

And that is when the real test will begin.

For much of the past eight years, American and NATO forces have mounted other large military operations to clear towns and cities of Taliban insurgents. And then, almost invariably, they have cleared out, never leaving behind enough soldiers or police officers to hold the place on their own.

And so, almost always, the Taliban returned — and, after a time, so did the American and NATO troops, to clear the place all over again.“Mowing the grass,” the soldiers and Marines derisively call it.

This time, in Marja, the largest Taliban stronghold, American and Afghan commanders say they will do something they have never done before: bring in an Afghan government and police force behind them. American and British troops will stay on to support them. “We’ve got a government in a box, ready to roll in,” said Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American commander here.

Indeed, Marja is intended to serve as a prototype for a new type of military operation, based on the counterinsurgency thinking propounded by General McChrystal in the prelude to President Obama’s decision in December to increase the number of American troops here to nearly 100,000. Read More

Charlie Wilson obituary

Charlie Wilson East Texas Congressman died this week. He was instrumental in the fall and expulsion of Russian troops from Afghanisatn and as a result gave birth to Talibanization of Afghanisatn. Last year  Liberal Arts College at University of Texas at Austin endowed a Charlie Wilson Chair in Pakistan Studies.

It is rare for one individual ­seriously to divert the course of ­history. To have done so virtually unnoticed was the astonishing achievement of the former Texas congressman Charlie Wilson, who has died aged 76 after suffering a cardiopulmonary arrest.

His accomplishment in launching and sustaining America's largest ­clandestine war – supplying arms to Afghan rebels fighting the Soviets in the 1980s – might have been more understandable had he been a discreet figure sliding greyly through the corridors of power. In reality, he was a loud-voiced, 6ft 4in Texan, addicted to outlandish clothes and notorious for his womanizing. He staffed his ­congressional office with beautiful female assistants (dubbed Charlie's Angels on Capitol Hill) and had well-publicized brushes with the law, including allegations of cocaine use and drunk-driving.

Yet he somehow managed to ­persuade the Bible belt of rural east Texas to return him for 11 successive congressional terms and to attract huge financial support from American Jews and the strict Wahhabi Muslims of Saudi Arabia. His inexhaustible capacity to be all things to all men brought him enormous influence in American governance, allowing him to spend the Reagan years virtually ­running his own foreign policy. Read More

PAKPAC Press Releases

PAKPAC strongly condemns loss of life in Karachi blasts

Washington DC Feb 5^th 2010: Once again insurgents have been able to penetrate and disturb civic life in Pakistan’s largest city. Within hours two bombs exploded resulting in the death of twenty five innocent civilians including three women. A third bomb stuffed in a computer monitor was dismantled by the bomb disposal unit in Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre casualty ward. Insurgents have been expanding their reach, demonstrating that Educational Institutions, Government Offices, Market places, Mosques, and now Hospitals are not safe from their reach. Methods employed by insurgents are no longer limited to suicide bombings, but now include improvised explosive device (IED). The latest bombings come on Friday at a time of mid day prayers and on the Chehlum procession marking the anniversary of the 40th day after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain.

PAKPAC asks the Federal Government, Sindh Government, and Karachi Local Government officials to work together to bring the perpetrators of such heinous acts to justice, and stop the sufferings of innocent people. We ask the Law enforcement agencies to take practical measures to provide adequate protection to the people of Pakistan and not only to VIP’s. According to sources up to 256 political activists in Karachi have died in targeted killings over the past six months.  Recriminations over the failure of the security forces deepened existing tensions between the city's main political players - the PPP, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Awami National party. PAKPAC asks Pakistan’s political leaders to unite to end the spread of terrorism. A strategy needs to be put in place now to curb this violence before it consumes all that is good in our country.

Ulema from different schools of thought have condemned the two blasts on Friday, appealed to the people to exercise restraint. The Islamic scholars said the perpetrators of the incidents of terrorism were neither Muslims nor Pakistanis, adding that they were trying to divide the people of the same faith. They asked the people to keep their sentiments under control, as violence would only strengthen those who were trying to destabilize the country.  PAKPAC welcomes this move, we however appeal to the Ulema to start a serious educational campaign across the country to check the rise in violence.

PAKPAC welcomes denouncing of these tragic incidents, however denouncing alone does little, we ask for action by all to stop such tragedies. There is now absolutely no time to lose.

Find complete coverage of the  incidents at [NYT] [Dawn] [BBC] [GEO] [Bloomberg] [The News]

Archived Press Releases

Viewpoint

Pakistan – US relations: A marriage That needs work – Harlan Ulman

For more than 60 years the U.S.-Pakistani relationship has veered between despair and euphoria. In a very social sense, the two states could be characterized as an aging married couple occupying very distant parts of a large, deteriorating house whose plumbing, electrics and phone systems are in disrepair and who are at a loss on how to interact to fix both their relationship and their living conditions. In essence, something between a marriage counselor and a plumber is sorely needed to improve this complex relationship.

Culture, politics, bureaucracies and history have conspired to confound the Pakistani-American relationship. The Pakistanis rightly fear that the past conduct of the United States in cutting Pakistan loose overrides current promises for a long-term commitment. Fiercely nationalistic, the presence of foreign troops on Pakistani soil is unacceptable to that public. Yet without greater U.S. support and some presence, Pakistan will be hard pressed to defeat the insurgency that is raging. And, of course, Afghanistan and India cannot be separated from Pakistan's security and future.

On the U.S. side, frustration in dealing with Pakistan is building within the Obama administration. President Obama has offered Pakistan if not a blank check, surely the promise of far more assistance in turn for a new strategic relationship with the United States. That relationship clearly includes a more aggressive posture against the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani indigenous terrorist organizations that target India. But Pakistan has not agreed to a new strategic framework. And Pakistanis further complain that the United States has been agonizingly slow in making good on reimbursement payments for the Pakistani army running into the billions of dollars and transferring needed military equipment from helicopters to armored vests. Read More

Go Negative - Daniel L. Byman

The intelligence community directors’ testimony on the imminent danger of an al Qaeda attack is only the latest depressing news in what has been a bad year for counterterrorism. The Fort Hood shootings, the near-miss airplane bombing on Christmas Day, the radicalization of parts of the Somali-American community, and other disturbing events all suggest that the threat to the U.S. homeland is growing steadily worse.

The intelligence community directors’ testimony on the imminent danger of an al Qaeda attack is only the latest depressing news in what has been a bad year for counterterrorism. The Fort Hood shootings, the near-miss airplane bombing on Christmas Day, the radicalization of parts of the Somali-American community, and other disturbing events all suggest that the threat to the U.S. homeland is growing steadily worse.

Although groups like al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula are rightly claiming the attention of U.S. intelligence officials, Pakistan remains the locus of the problem, and any solutions have to begin there. In the last five years the al Qaeda core has reconstituted itself in Pakistan, using it as a base to rebuild its forces and plan terrorist attacks. Drone strikes on militants disrupt the al Qaeda leadership and force the organization to keep its head down. But by themselves they are not enough. Pakistan must reclaim the territory al Qaeda and like-minded groups have seized as their sanctuary. Pakistani leaders, unfortunately, have made an art form of stepping up cooperation when problems are in the headlines, only to revert to form when U.S. attention shifts elsewhere. The Obama administration must redouble pressure on Pakistan to restart its stalled military offensive against militants in border areas near Afghanistan and otherwise take aggressive action against the militant presence in the country. Read More

Rules of Engagement – US & Muslim world

Gathered around a table with Karachi-based bloggers on Tuesday evening, Farah Pandith, the US Special Representative to Muslim Communities, asked, “can’t a person do more than one thing at a time?” The question was raised as a way to get around the fact that most conversations about America’s relations with Muslims around the world are held hostage by contentious issues arising in the context of the war against terror. She was trying to make the point that even while governments wrangle about drone attacks and Blackwater, Americans and Muslims can begin to engage on a grassroots level.

Ms Pandith’s optimism about people-to-people relations strengthening ties between the US and global Muslim communities is a cornerstone of US President Barack Obama’s foreign policy. Speaking in Cairo last June, he called for a “new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.” Indeed, Pandith’s very position – this is the first time a special envoy for Muslim communities has been appointed – is a testament to the US government’s commitment to reaching out to the Muslim world.

But over a year into Obama’s term in office, and relations between the US and Muslims remain strained. The Afghan troop surge; the spread of Al Qaeda into Yemen; the Transportation Security Administration’s heightened security requirements for US-bound travelers from many Muslim country; the delay in closing down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay; escalating drone attacks in Pakistan; and, above all, the failure to convince the Israeli government to enforce a complete settlement freeze – these issues have hijacked any meaningful engagement between the US and Muslim communities. On campuses, on streets, and online, young Muslims are increasingly complaining that Obama can talk the talk, but balks when it’s time to walk the walk. Read More

Meet PAKPAC Board of Directors

1. M. Saud Anwar- Immediate Past President

2. Shehzad Akhter

3. Rehman Bhatti

4. Hassan Bukhari- International Event Coordinator-Exec Committee Member

5. Raza Bokhari-

6. Hina Chaudhry

7. Faizan Haq

8. Jamila Khalil

9. Amina Khan

10. Noor Khan-

11. Saquib Khan-Exec Committee Member

12. Shahid Ahmed Khan

13. Ray Mahmood

14. Ijaz Mahmood-Exec Committee Member

15. Khalid Mahmood

16. Irfan Malik- Executive Director

17. Muzammil Malik

18. Salman Malik President Elect 2012-2013

19. Rafiq Rahman-Exec Committee Member

20. Faiz Rehman

21. Parvez Shah-Treasurer- Exec Committee Member

22. Imran Shahab

23. Mushtaq Sheikh-Exec Committee Member

24. Farooq Soomro

25. Mohammed Suleman-President 2010-2011`

26. Zahid Syed

27. Shahid Tahir

28. Zafar Tahir

29. Mohiudin Zeb

PAKPAC has more openings for active community members to become Board of Directors.

Email  Nomination@pakpac.net

Events & Activities

PAKPAC Board of Directors meet with Congresspersons to reauthorize Patriot Act with reform

PAKPAC and a coalition of other organizations spent a full day at US Capital meeting with 17 US Congresspersons and their staffers to support reauthorization of Patriot Act with reform. At these meetings PAKPAC was represented by its  BOD Dr. Saud Anwar, Dr. Salman Malik, Faiz Rehman, Shahid Tahir, Faizan Haq, and Irfan Malik. Many other PAKPAC supporters also .attended these meetings.

The day's results were encouraging. Congresspersons and staffers with whom we met seemed generally receptive to framing an enhancement of the standard for issuing National Security Letters (NSLs) as a pro-security measure by virtue of avoiding false leads, and accordingly, lambasting opponents of that proposed reform as "weak on national security." We might also gain some daylight on the material support standard, as the international implication for the battle for hearts & minds also resonated.

The Coalition feels that

·                     The Leahy-Feinstein bill will reportedly be the basis for a single vote in each chamber in order to avoid the delay introduced by a bicameral conference committee. Meanwhile, Lieberman will be pushing a "clean" reauthorization bill lacking even the cursory protections included in the Leahy-Feinstein consensus bill.  Finally, the JUSTICE Act many of us supported remains on life support in the House.

·                     The strategic question facing members of Congress is whether or not to accede to the bills supported by the leadership, or whether to offer amendments that could open a procedural Pandora's box.  Feingold and Sanders are reportedly crafting amendments to resurrect provisions of the JUSTICE Act.  We also got some intel suggesting that we'll be fighting proposed amendments aiming to remove sunsets and make some of the reauthorized authorities permanent.  Either possibility could derail the fast track process.  People with whom we met suggested that, if the Senate gets bogged down in a protracted fight over the amendments, another 60-day reauthorization would be likely to kick the can down the road until late April. 

Additional Material for Patriot Act Background

National Security Letters, the Center for Democracy & Technology has collected a number of resources, including the IG reports, at: http://www.cdt.org/policy/legislation-needed-correct-widespread-errors-use-national-security-letters

Reports on material support standard and how it undermines U.S. foreign policy objectives. 

·                     Charity & Security Network: http://www.charityandsecurity.org/resources?type=analysis&tid=All

·                     OMB Watch: http://www.ombwatch.org/node/10442

Community Action

Write to your Congressperson about reauthorization of Patriot Act

PAKPAC is alerting its supporters that votes on re-authorizing key parts of the Patriot Act will happen in Congress any day now. It was initially added to the Jobs bill in Senate, but then later removed. And, once again, fear-mongering and scare tactics are being used to block genuine Patriot Act reforms. This time, opponents of reform are seizing on the attempted Christmas Day airplane bombing to insist that we don’t need to bring the Patriot Act in line with the Constitution. Some are even calling for toughening up the Patriot Act with still more freedom-stealing provisions.

Please make sure Congress knows that Americans want Patriot Act reform and that we’re totally fed up with these scare tactics that don’t make us any safer. There’s more evidence than ever that Patriot Act abuses are a real and present danger and are eroding our freedoms at an alarming rate. Recently, the Department of Justice issued still another report documenting widespread FBI abuses of the National Security Letter provision of the Patriot Act. More than 2,000 times, the FBI illegally collected telephone records by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not even exist or simply sweet-talking phone companies into turning over records.

Please don’t stand idly by and let Congress allow these kinds of abuses to continue. Tell your representatives in Congress to vote for reform and stand up to fear-mongering. You can use the following letter to your elected leader. You can find contact information about your representative both in US Senate and House of Representatives from the provided link.

Suggested Letter (please personalize as needed)

Honorable [Representative],

There's more evidence than ever that Patriot Act abuses are a real and present danger.

Recently, the Department of Justice issued still another report documenting widespread FBI abuses of the National Security Letter provision of the Patriot Act. More than 2,000 times, the FBI illegally collected telephone records by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not even exist or simply sweet talking phone companies into turning over records.

Three provisions of the Patriot Act are expiring at the end of February, but the latest draft of the bill extending the Patriot Act fails to rein in documented abuses of the National Security Letter provision.  Now is the time to reform the Patriot Act.

I respectfully request that you promote comprehensive reform of the Patriot Act.  It's time that our government stop violating the rights of everyday people who have nothing to do with terrorism.  Please tell congressional leaders to include substantive National Security Letter reforms in any bill extending Patriot Act powers.

I look forward to your response on this important matter.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Address]

[City, State ZIP]

Ethnic Profiling Bill to be introduced in New York State Assembly

Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind plans to reintroduce his 2005 bill that would allow police to use ethnic profiling to spot terrorists. Hikind believes that ethnic profiling is not unconstitutional because "he says a 'compelling governmental interest' in using it to save lives.” Under Hikind's bill, race and ethnicity would be fair game for police officers when deciding who to stop, question and search.

Hikind says he personally does not believe in profiling, but "there are exceptional situations where you have to use exceptional means." He continues: "We can go after 80-year-old men and women getting on a plane. But the reality is that you look at the profile of what terrorists have looked like, where they come from and so on and it just makes sense to use that along with other things."

We're not saying only look at one group. What we're saying is: Let's go with the odds. It makes sense. We do it in baseball, by the way. We do it in many other areas. It surely makes sense to do it if the possibility is there to save the lives of innocent people all over the world."

A similar bill is being introduced in New York State Senate by State Senator Vincent Leibell.

PAKPAC asks its supporters in New York State to write to their New York State Delegate and New York State Senator requesting that such bill should not be introduced or voted upon. You can find contact information about your New York State Delegate or New York State Senator from the provided links.

CENSUS 2010 Participate or wait another TEN years

US Government is conducting a count of its residents; such a count -census is conducted every ten years. The 2010 Census will be mailed or delivered to over 130 million households by March. Participation is not only mandatory, it is crucial for the Pakistani American community as one of the fastest growing and traditionally undercounted populations. An accurate count through the census will allow for fair allocation of federal funding and political representation. Make yourself count by participating in the 2010 Census! It will also indicate what is the total count of Pakistani Americans in USA, and in which states, towns they reside in.

An accurate count of the U.S. population forms the basis for many important but often overlooked political, economic, and social decisions that are made that end up affecting our daily lives. By filling the Census form you’re making a statement about what resources your community needs going forward. Starting February US households will start getting Census forms in mail. PAKPAC requests to all Pakistani Americans to fully participate and make sure that they and their loved ones  are counted. Anyone in the family can complete the Census papers and it is required to have information on all people in the household.

Participation in census is not dependent on your visa or residency status. The census does not ask about your status. (Your information is protected). Please complete the form and include any relatives and friends even if temporarily staying at your address. To make it easier for US residents, Census Bureau have translated many forms and instructions and other information in many languages including Urdu. Read Census form in Urdu.

In 2000 Census the questionnaire had problems confusing the Pakistani Americans to be wrongfully counted as Asian Indians. To find out how to correctly fill the form checkout PAKPAC instructions.

If you have any questions about 2010 Census please contact ed@pakpac.net or 202-558-6404.

There are many job opportunities still available for 2010 census, many of them are temporary jobs, if you or someone you know is interested they can check for available job postings at Census 201o website. The following link provides practice tests for Census 2010 jobs.

Census Timeline: Key Dates to Remember

February 2010 – April 2010: Questionnaire Assistance Centers and Be Counted sites open to answer questions
March 2010: United States Postal Service delivers census questionnaires

April 1, 2010: CENSUS DAY Send your questionnaire back!

May 2010 – July 2010: Census takers follow up with households that did not return questionnaires

December 31, 2010: U.S Census Bureau delivers apportionment counts to the president.

Immigration

HIV testing removed from Immigration Health Certification Requirements

Section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), bars the admission to the United States of any foreign national who has been diagnosed with certain specific illnesses. Center of Disease Control recently removed Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection from its list of communicable diseases. As a result, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), on Nov. 2, 2009, published a final rule in the Federal Register, removing Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection from the from the list of illnesses that make a foreign national inadmissible. This rule took effect on Jan 4, 2010. As of Jan. 4, 2010, therefore, having HIV infection will no longer make a foreign national inadmissible to the United States.

Under the immigration laws of the United States, a foreign national who applies for an immigrant visa abroad, or who seeks to adjust status to a permanent resident while in the United States, is required to receive vaccinations to prevent the following diseases:

• Mumps

• Measles

• Rubella

• Polio

• Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxoids

• Pertussis

• Influenza Type B

• Hepatitis B

More information about immigration immunization and health requirements are listed herein. More information about HIV testing requirements is listed herein.

Future Activities

“Salvaging Pakistan: The Changing Face of Civil Society” Talk by  Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa 

SAIS has organized this talk on Friday  February 19^th, from 12:30 to 2:00 PM in the Rome Auditorium South Asia Studies, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Johns Hopkins University 1619 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20036 p: 202.663.5722. R.S.V.P. to Rahul Madhavan by COB Thursday, February 18th by e-mailing southasia@jhu.edu.

Pakistan's Counterinsurgency Strategies: What's Working and What's Not

The Middle East Institute and The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace are proud to host Haider Mullick, a fellow at the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) and the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) on Wednesday  February 24^th 10 AM at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace  1779 Mass Ave, NW Washington, DC 20036  The event is moderated by: Marvin Weinbaum, with commentary from: Ashley Tellis, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Lisa Curtis, Heritage Foundation.

Haider Mullick will examine Pakistan's counterinsurgency strategy, focusing specifically on shifts in 2009 and emerging threats in 2010, as examined in his monograph, Pakistan's Security Paradox: Countering and Fomenting Insurgencies (Joint Special Operations University, 2009,). He will also discuss findings from his recent trip to Pakistan and India to research ways to improve the US-Pakistan security partnership. Please RSVP by email to eyeghiyan@ceip.org

Announcement

Job Opportunities at Department of Justice

DOJ Civil Rights Division has various job openings from entry level to professional legal staff positions. To check current job listings visit DOJ website

Upcoming Seminars at Think Tanks

To get information about future seminars and events relating to US-Pakistan relations, please visit the following websites

Atlantic Council

Brookings Institution

Heritage Foundation

Middle East Institute

SAIS