Embassy of Pakistan Internship
Program 2005
By Sarah Syed
A
group photograph of the 2005 interns |
The widely acclaimed Embassy
Internship Program is an exciting and challenging experience
for Pakistani-American students who spend a semester at the
Embassy of Pakistan in Washington D.C. Students from all over
the country interested in politics, international relations,
journalism, and economics gain first-hand experience about
Pakistani-American affairs and the US political system.
In 2002, a pilot internship program was launched at the DCM’s
office in the Embassy of Pakistan, which has rapidly become
one of the most popular internships in Washington D.C. The
Embassy receives hundreds of applications for internship positions
every year. Though the Embassy has interns all year round,
it is in the summer that they have the largest number of full
time interns. During the summer, the interns work on short-term
and long-term projects catered to their studies and interests
under the direction of Mohammad Sadiq, the Deputy Chief of
Mission (DCM). This summer eight interns have joined the Internship
Program. Following is a brief introduction of this year’s
summer interns.
Saad Bhatti: No stranger to politically affiliated internships,
Saad Bhatti is putting his education background in Political
Science and Economics at Hartwick College to good use this
summer at the Embassy of Pakistan. Last summer, the Massachusetts
native worked for the John Kerry Campaign in Boston, and explained
that “after experiencing the more domestic side of politics
last summer [with Kerry], I chose to return to my roots and
become involved in Pakistani politics, as well as gain knowledge
about governmental issues.” Saad involves himself in
Hartwick’s Model UN club to expand his knowledge about
politics and the government. In the future, Saad hopes to
become a lawyer, and is currently on his school’s Mock
Trial team, and partakes in Student Government as Chief Justice
of the Judicial Board.
Shaheen Chaudhri: Washington DC’s George Washington
University student Shaheen Chaudhri from New Haven, Connecticut
came to intern at the Embassy of Pakistan this summer to gain
“exposure to Pakistan’s role in the international
community.” With an International Relations and Middle
Eastern Studies double major, Shaheen hopes to enter the United
States Foreign Service, and he feels that his experience this
summer at the Embassy will give him further insight into a
life of diplomacy. At George Washington University, Shaheen
tutors at the Writing Center. Previously, Shaheen interned
at the International Broadcasting Bureau, where he worked
on maps formed from demographic surveys of Middle Eastern
countries.
Taimour Chaudhry: Another Political Science and Economics
major, Taimour Chaudhry is one of the youngest interns this
summer. A sophomore at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor,
Taimour shares the hopes with his fellow interns to gain political
experience while in D.C. Taimour has had a respectable role
in his community, partaking in the Pakistani Student Association
as well as “Help Darfur” campaign, collecting
aid for the genocide-stricken country of Sudan. Taimour’s
ambition to become a lawyer in the future was evident when
he exclaimed, “Pakistani communities need more lawyers
than doctors.” His experience at the Embassy this summer
as well as his Political Science education will be a strong
background for this endeavor.
Raina Khan: Hailing from The University of Southern California,
Raina Khan is an intern with an interesting academic background.
As a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies major
with an Art History minor, Raina is interested in health issues
Pakistan is currently faced with, and hopes to learn more
about them at the Embassy. She was previously involved in
a cancer research internship. Raina hopes to be a public health
official in Pakistan and says, “I want to take this
internship as an opportunity to find out about how the public
health sector in Pakistan can better work with the Pakistani
government to bring positive change to millions of citizens
who need it; specifically those in rural areas.”
Talha Khan: The most well-traveled intern at the Embassy of
Pakistan this summer is Talha Khan. A Political Science and
Economics double major at St. Paul’s Macalester College
with a Philosophy minor, Talha has an intense passion for
travel and diplomacy. He spent two years at the United World
College in Norway — one of the ten international colleges
in the world that seeks to bring students from all around
the world to grow environmentally, politically, and socially
aware. Following his studies there, Talha joined the Norwegian
Peace Corps in China. In the province of Ninxia Hui, Talha
was involved in a humanitarian exchange project between Norway
and China. Last summer, Talha joined World Voices Norway,
a voluntary international member organization that gives youth
access to political decision-making processes and spotlights
the important local and global issues concerning both the
planet and the people. Talha hopes to continue working with
development-oriented projects, towards inter-religious harmony,
but most of all he plans to “travel with the tide.”
Unaza Khan: Studying International Relations and Arabic Studies
at Tufts University, Unaza Khan has come to the right area
in DC to gain insight on politics, as well as to familiarize
herself with cultural and political aspects of Pakistan. A
Long Island native, Unaza has garnered valuable experience
thus far in her life. In late 2004, she traveled to Egypt
with EPIIC (Education for Public Inquiry and International
Citizenship) and met with Desert Development Center for urban
planning and sustainability of Cairo. She also committed herself
to ATASK (Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence) where
she helped create a children’s playroom. In the future,
she hopes to become a Senator, a dream she says was inspired
by the idea of powerful women in the WLC (Women Lead Conference).
Unaza says of her ambitions, “I don’t know how
I’ll get there, but I know what I want.”
Sarah Syed: Young Boston-native Sarah Syed took a leap from
her mainly English Literature background to come to the Embassy
of Pakistan this summer. Studying at The University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Sarah came to intern because she wants to “help
in striving for a better Pakistan — economically, morally,
politically, and socially.” With all of the political
issues surrounding her day-to-day, Sarah says she “wants
to spread knowledge, but I need to educate myself about international
politics first.” Sarah has been immensely involved with
the Human Development Foundation of North America (HDF) where
she works towards creating a positive social change and community
overall through literacy, enhanced quality of education, universal
primary healthcare, and grassroots economic development in
Pakistan. She visited rural Pakistan with HDF and witnessed
the organizations work.
Fauzia Tariq: With a Political Science and International Politics
degree, as well as an undeclared International Relations major,
it is clear that Fauzia Tariq has immense interest in world
issues and human rights. Fauzia graduated this May from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has been
involved with student government and a plethora of human rights
groups throughout her college career. Fauzia was not only
engaged in awareness groups such as Amnesty International,
Advocacy for Human Rights, and ACLU, but also initiated a
few groups of her own. She started the Civil Liberty’s
Defense Committee, after intense analysis and displeasure
with The United States Patriot Act. She realized she could
effectively channel her frustration by voicing her opinions
and spreading awareness. Fauzia says that working at the Embassy
of Pakistan "will expose me to real life politics and
international relations.” In the future, Fauzia plans
to pursue graduate school and her ideal vocation would be
one in healthcare, particularly practicing medicine in developing
countries and improving health policies.
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