Shaukat Paracha, Asma Shirazi, Meher Bukhari, Saima Mohsin are some of the names that were in attendance, in a Drink & Dance party hosted by the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W Patterson.
More photos from the event below:
Pakistani interests are sold for dollars, real estate, or mistresses and alcohol. The greatest contradiction in Zardari governments hypocrasy is tacitly supporting the killing of innocent Pakistanis by drone and CIA hired local assassins. Pakistan and Afghanistan have become stealth bases for not only CIA, but also Mossad. Jewish Americans working in the CIA have dual loyalty and perform dual roles, as part spies on the Pakistan’s nuclear program for Israel and India. Here is an excerpt from an jewish organizers comments:
The Times is reporting that General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Pakistan’s military chief, has asked 335 C.I.A. officers and Special Operations forces–including all C.I.A. contractors–to leave the country. Kayani has also called for an end to drone strikes and requested more information about C.I.A. covert operations (U.S. officials have not confirmed the Times report). In interviews with the Times, Pakistani and American officials pointed to Pakistan’s arrest of C.I.A. contractor Raymond Davis–who killed two Pakistanis in January–as the proximate cause for Kayani’s demands. Davis was released in March after the victims’ families received so-called “blood money,” sparking anti-American protests in Pakistan.
But the Times and other news outlets also cite more fundamental reasons for Pakistan’s growing unease with U.S. counterterrorism operations in the country:
- Desire to Protect Nuclear Program: The Pakistani army thinks Washington’s underlying motivation in Pakistan is to dismantle the country’s large nuclear arsenal, a Pakistani official tells the Times.
- Anger Over Drone Strikes: The U.S. has expanded its drone strikes–which are deeply unpopular in Pakistan–as it loses confidence in the Pakistani military’s ability to root out the Taliban and al Qaeda in the country’s tribal areas, the Times explains, and Kayani wants the program to end or be curtailed (Kayani forcefully condemned a drone attack the day after Davis was released that killed tribal leaders with ties to the Pakistani military). As NBC’s Andrea explains on Twitter, “Pakistan sees Raymond Davis case as wedge to get what it’s wanted: fewer drone attacks less CIA presence.”
- Sense That U.S. Is Leaving Pakistan in Dark: A Pakistani official tells the Pakistani newspaper Dawn that the the country’s military and intelligence agency, the I.S.I., were offended when they learned of Raymond Davis’ covert mission in Pakistan. While the U.S. normally informs Pakistan of people like Davis, the official explains, “in this case, and in hundreds of other similar cases, the whole procedure was set aside and we were bypassed.” The U.S. now doesn’t even share intelligence with the Pakistanis about how it chooses its targets for drone strikes, according to the Times. Pakistan also suspects that it’s being excluded from negotiations for an Afghan peace deal, The Gurdian notes.
- Concern about Economic Toll of ‘War on Terror’: In an interview with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, The Guardian notes that Pakistani intelligence officials estimate that the U.S. war on terror has cost the Pakistani economy around $68 billion since 2001. The Guardian doesn’t elaborate on how the officials arrived at that figure, but Zardari gives clues, explaining that Pakistan has invested more in security than commerce and that the country is contending with rising fuel prices and the collapse of industry in the tribal areas.
- Response to Pakistani Public Opinion: Many Pakistanis, the BBC’s Syed Shoaib Hasan explains, feel that the U.S. is criticizing Pakistan’s instability “while directly contributing to it with its actions along the Afghan border.”
Some analysts are skeptical, however, about whether Pakistan’s demands will actually result in a reduced C.I.A presence in the country. In response to a tweet about Pakistan asking the U.S. to cut C.I.A activity, The Nation’s Jeremy Scahill wrote, “You mean PK tells US it must sharply reduce the number of times its operatives get caught.” And Kalsoom Lakhani at Changing Up Pakistan doesn’t think the U.S. will stop its drone strikes because of vague Pakistani complaints.
Phil, what dual loyalty? As a modern orthodox Jew, I can tell you that most of my fellow orthodox’s primary loyalty is to the State of Israel. I can give you examples of shuls where the prayer for the welfare of the US government is mumbled quickly by the guy leading the service, if it is said at all, whereas the prayer for the State of Israel is said in unison and while standing. Such is the practice at many orthodox services at Hillels on campuses.
I daresay that more American orthodox Jews who are not citizens of Israel have served in the Israeli army than in the US army.
Oh, if they only had dual loyalty!
Jerry Haber (a.k.a. the Magnes Zionist)