The new Fi2W podcast makes its debut with an examination of the hopes and fears of Pakistani immigrants following the death of Osama bin Laden and rising tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan.
A wave of relief, as Pakistani Americans and organizations representing Muslim Americans react to the death of Osama bin Laden.
The measure would have provided Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to undocumented Pakistanis after the country’s catastrophic floods last year.
New York’s “Little Pakistan” was mostly ignored by the candidates and is largely unaware there’s an election happening today. What does it mean when an immigrant community does not participate in mainstream politics?
In the wake of the arrest of a naturalized US citizen from Pakistan in connection with the failed car bomb attack on Times Square, many Pakistani Americans are angry and scared.
New Hampshire sets stage for blazing American election season
By Jehangir Khattak (This article was written for the Pakistani magazine Defence Journal)
New Hampshire primaries results have set the stage for a blazing election season in America. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s ability to prove all scientific data generated to predict her certain defeat in the Granite State primaries and John McCain’s resurgence despite almost dried up funds has made the 2008 presidential election one of the most closely contested in recent years.
The snow-clad city of Manchester (NH) and its adjacent state capital Concord and elsewhere in the sprawling countryside all were dotted with political shops set up in school gymnasiums, town halls, small country-style cafes, restaurants and every conceivable space that could be used to impress the voters. The candidates too used every available media to reach out to the voters. Thus voters in New Hampshire were in no mood of celebrity gossip rather they were practically in the middle of almost daily gossip with celebrities.
Kathy Gunst was thrilled to see Bill Clinton talking to about a dozen of his admirers outside a restaurant at lunch time in Exeter, a small town in vicinity of Manchester. “It was deeply intimate to listen to a former President of the United States on a side walk,” Kathy, told Defense Journal. Kathy said Bill talked about different projects his foundation had launched. He talked less about politics and more about environment and some international issues like Turkey’s joining the European Union.
It could be because the locals were so used to celebrity talk on roadside pavement that not all walking by opted to listen to Bill. Some of the former President’s admirer’s had a photo opportunity as well, giving a valuable addition to their personal albums. So was the style of almost all the candidates who wouldn’t miss an opportunity of public engagement in an effort to woe New Hampshirites, considered hard nuts to crack when it comes to winning their vote.
A local joke speaks of their maverick political nature. “I am still undecided after having heard the candidates and shaken their hand two times,” is the common phrase used by the state voters to force the candidates make more rounds of their communities or subject them to a “special” treatment. Little wonder New Hampshire has one of the highest numbers of undecided or independent registered voters in the country. Forty-two percent of the state voters are registered as independent and can legally swing in favor of either party on polling day.
