The goals of Pak Americans in US politics may not align with those of Islamabad| It happens to every group of immigrants after they've been here a while... |
MittRomney
...former governor of Massachussetts, the Publican nominee for president in 2012. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney has a record as a successful businessman, heading Bain Capital, and he rescued the 2002 Winter Olympics from the midst of bribery and mismanagement scandals....
would win, and that was what they wanted to hear. The US presidential election has shown that Pak opinion makers are in a state of denial. The expatriates are coming around to this reality and disagree with the views back home. Such diverging views may result in a change that may not be to Islamabad's liking.
While Paks back home, enraged by President B.O.'s remarks on Pakistain in a presidential debate, wished him to lose the election, an overwhelming majority of Pak Americans voted for all the candidates of the Democratic Party. From young students to the elderly, Pak Americans were incensed by Mitt Romney's rhetoric against immigrants, and concessionary views on student loans and social services, particularly health benefits. Republican Party, crusading against immigrants and asking Washington to deport many of them, had alienated almost the entire expatriate community, Hispanics in particular. Similarly, the conservative onslaught on human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
with racial undertones had angered the African Americans and others. In a way every minority group was unhappy with the conservative Republicans and forged a grand alliance to keep President B.O. in the White House.
| Therefore, the Pak community decided to look out for its own interests in the country they live in, the US, and not for the one they have left. |
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI), the most vibrant Pak-American political platform otherwise making noises against President B.O.'s drone policy, campaigned for Democratic candidates.
This change reflects demographic factors, maturation of the immigrant community, and the US hostility towards religious organizations that are suspected to be aiding Al Qaeda and Taliban. In terms of demographics, second generation, and in many cases third generation, Pak Americans have reached the voting age. These new Americans do not have as strong emotional ties with their home country as the first generation. It is true that a section of second generation youth has joined Death Eater religious parties, but they constitute a very small minority. An overwhelming majority is just like other Americans who are hardly aware of Pakistain-US relations. Similarly, as the first generation of expatriates is becoming old, they are becoming more conscious of the old-age benefits provided by the US government. Consequently, they are leaning towards the Democratic Party for its better record to guarantee economic benefits. Lastly, the US campaign against Death Eater religious formations has scared common expatriates, and therefore faith based organizations are no more the only political forums for Pak Mohammedans. Various mainstream political parties of Pakistain are branching out in North America.
The new composition of the Pak American expatriate community will have several consequences for Islamabad and organizations like the Overseas Foundation. Firstly and most importantly, Pak Americans are going to be more involved in issues relating to their own interests in the US and will not deploy a bulk of their resources for lobbying on behalf of Islamabad. There are groups of Pak physicians who have been lobbying for democratic institutions and human rights. There will be dwindling lobbying sources for selling the Pak establishment's policies in Washington. The new direction of Pak Americans may also affect the stream of remittances due to many reasons, one of which may be a call by the US government to refrain from such transactions. In essence, the goals of Pak Americans in terms of influencing US politics may not align with those of the people back home.