PAKPAC President Meets
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Dr
Bokhari with Attorney General Gonzales |
Washington, DC: Twelve (12)
representatives of Muslim, Sikh, Arab American, South Asian
and Pakistani American organizations met with the Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales at an hour long roundtable discussion
on wide-ranging issues such as domestic surveillance, The
Patriot Act, immigrant registration, hate crimes, racial
profiling, global American image, and general relations
between law enforcement and grassroots communities. Dr.
Raza Bokhari, President, Pakistani American Public Affairs
Committee (PAKPAC), represented the Pakistani American community.
Remarks made by Dr. Raza Bokhari during this discussion
are transcribed below:
“I understand that Mr. George Salem and Jim Zogby
of American Arab Institute have played an important role
in putting this meeting together and I must take this opportunity
to acknowledge him and thank him for his leadership.
“I want to add my voice to the issues already raised
by the various leaders present here today; some members
of the Pakistani-American community, which is approaching
700,000 in number, face hardship on account of these challenges…
I am however proud to report that a great many of us are
living “the American dream” in peace and prosperity
in our adopted homeland. We strongly feel committed and
duty bound in sharing this with anyone that we can, as we
feel that this can in some small way help in enhancing the
American image around the world, particularly in Pakistan;
Pakistan is a vital ally of America in this war against
terror, and it is important that we win over the hearts
and minds of the people of Pakistan. In this respect we
look forward to your guidance, the guidance of the President,
and the guidance of our law makers in describing how we
can best serve our great country.
“The $510 million generous donation of America in
response to the recent earthquake in Pakistan, and the deployment
of US armed forces to help Pakistan in the rescue and relief
mission, have recently won a lot of goodwill for America;
it is our desire to help further strengthen this goodwill
by becoming the voice of America.
“The Pakistani American community is also very committed
to work with local and federal law enforcement and surveillance
agencies to ensure that our nation is not attacked again
by terrorists of any sort; we hold our adopted homeland
very sacred and cannot tolerate any acts of violence against
America at home or abroad.
“I would be remiss if I do not mention that we as
a community remain very apprehensive of becoming a target
of hate crime on account of the ongoing terrorist threats
to America. We seek your assurance that our government is
doing everything possible to minimize such acts.
“I thank you again for inviting me and want to take
this opportunity to invite you to deliver a keynote speech
at our upcoming 17th Annual summer meeting on July 8th 2006
in Chicago. This meeting is held in conjunction with the
five-day annual summer meeting of the Association of Pakistani
Physicians of North America (APPNA), which will attract
more than 5000 Pakistani Americans from across the United
States. I am leaving a formal letter of invitation with
your office today.”
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