May 31

Sunday in Washington DC- no meetings obviously- nobody works on sundays here- so i had to resign myself to relax and not feel guilty about it- since i have joined politics i have not had much non political relax time-  today i did what i used to do at college in london or school in paris- i hit the museums and went painting/sketching in the park at the motivation from life itself-

there difference from school days was clear!…there is a big responsibility on my shoulder- this trip is part of mission- to fix pak- and so whilst i relaxed i thought of how life had moved on-

my first stop on smithsonian trail was american history museum- to understand how a nation decided today on key foreign policy concerns one needs to understand how it has lived in the past- i took mental notes- ofcourse i also appreciated their interactive museum concept- its a learning for children and adults- i missed my son esp on space museum -

i didnt have the luxury to go from each exhibit to next so i walked thru those that caught my attention randomly- i wasnt satisfied skimming thru bec i am used to being a big museum detail person -anyway i had fun soaking it all in-

what struck me in the american history museum was the effort to show thru exhibts the progression of thoughts/ideas/values during their history- independence from british wth purpose- the women and blacks got their rights so late – despite amendments to constitution the implementation of these rights took time- the same issues everywhere-same injustices except advanced just and accountable societies implemented better-simple rule of thumb for future fix it society i was busy creating- the role of presidents was also a sombering section -the leader of a nation – a commander in chief in the true sense- how responsible a position and yet back home how it lacked the sanctity- its credibility could only  restored wth heads of state who got votes based on performance rather than accident- anyway-

my conclusion was that pak had a long history and not a single museum at home did it justice- it was pride in one’s past that built nations- children and adults had to be show cased all that was great and not so great- it didnt have to be censored and forgotten based on likes dislikes- one had to build learning societies- hungry for knwoledge- it was so dooable- i had so many thought along the way- i need to be on twitter to communicate/manage them better! anyway

i walked out towards the national art museum- my paris days came back – as i walked thru the sculpture gallery i thought of tulleries gardens which didnt look anything like this but it just reminded me of it- the concorde and washington memorial- it was just pleasant flashbacks -everytime there was a flashback i thouht of the load of the fix it mission- this trip was becoming a real refresher- so different to what i had imagined it at the beginnng wth my closed mind!

i walked into the national art museum and literally zoomed thru rooms and rooms- just soaking in- purposefully not glancing at names and titles of paintings- it was almost as if i wanted to walk thru feeling the paintings to awaken the paris days without really wanting to get to know each painting individually- plus i was dying to dabble myself so i was looking for the museum shop..

i ended up at the shop eventually where i got my sketch pad and ink pens- i was thrilled- i walked out and roamed the mall sketching whatever i liked- from one green patch to another- i had the time of my life- music in my ear enjoying the sights- 

last museum for the afternoon was the space one- jfk’s speech asking for space budgets from congress struck me- better not to go at all rather than half way- so true- i missed my son so much- i have to return to dc wth my son one day – wont b soon since there is no vacation time for us!

ended up at the 2nd world war memorial where i sketched more and at the foot of the washington memorial- my concorde! whilst sketching a couple stopped to have a look at my work- when they discovered this was not a professional artist but a politician doodling as a hobby–they wanted to pray – so we prayed- they to their God and me to mine- pretty much the same God! one God- it was the most real inter faith experience i have ever had- imagine in a park- just a sombre pray for peace success at bringing people closer – and closer to God- it was v special- so impulsive- there is something to say for communication and dialogue- when u seek such experiences they come fishing at u- am i making sense to u? 

i walked towards the water and doodled there too – sketching jefferson memorial- that is where i finally found a cool shady spot and having finished sketching i picked up the US constitution- as i read i thought of what alexander hamilton had said- govt is reason – it is not eloquence – its a force – like fire – it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master- never for a moment shld it be left to irresponsible action!

i rest my case- i also want to share the preamble of the constitution wth its emphasis on justice, domestic tranquality- article one is on congress- importance is clear- And the bill of rights first amendment is freedom of religion speech and press- i rest my case again- need i say anymore-

i actually just wanted to read away and note away but i had another appointment- my cousin who works in dc picked me up- we went to george town – had austrian food and enjoyed the waterfront

am on my desk- have meetings to prepare for -its already midnite- speak to u later-

an open mind learns faster- makes a fix it plan more efficiently – an angry mind just doesnt- need i say more…

 

May 30

I have been shopping for good ideas-legislation-projects in last 2 weeks- i have found quite a bit- i call it success transfer – to take back to pak and implement all useful learnings- some top of mind connect points are…

minneapolis- human traficking /windmills- centralized MIS budgeting for projects/ green policies in pml

houston- pak community strategy- equal opportunity commission-baker institute on kashmir-business follow ups- county clerk election reform-

raleigh- environment institute/ magnet school/ enterprizing women/

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we are off to washington today- weekend – from monday onwards a week of hopefully roller coaster political meetings will start-

 

May 29

Environment institue- chapel city- i have connected for advisory on issues like energy and delta- shld be useful in the future for cabinet advisory purposes

tour of capital premises

met 2 judges and discussed family court cases and legal system in nc

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i have added my articles that have been published since i have been traveling- 2 in usa and 2 in pak- also one more interview added to press report section

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on desk tonight-

 

May 28

School visit- incredible experience- elementary school tecahing leadership skills- mind blowing to watch articulate motivated children performing to their max due to skills special techniques technology. My jugnoos/ children of pakistan deserve the same- i will create this ‘magnet leadership’ model back home and do it in such a way that the costs are not prohibitive- its a technique- we will video conference wth st joseph and this school- we will connect our children- ofcourse my son and these kids will also connect on email- in fact this process started already due to initiative shown by one of american kids this morning.

meeting wth enterprising women magazine- will get them connected to entrepreneur women of pak so that the soft image of pak gets out there to american media- again this is govt mna job but i am happy to do it since state will win.

meetings with a state senator and house of rep legislator- discussed environment and otehr type of legislations- chances of success transfer

home hospitality- delicious north carolina dinner with a family- v enlightened american couple- great conversation- conclusion, in order for me to win and for me to reduce indian belligerence i cannot be closed about dialoguing with india’s younger parliamentarians- we can move forward ONLY after resolution of composite dialogue issue and after india stops destabilizing pakistan- but for that we need to dialogue- educate- we need to convince indians that its in their inetrest to move forward on this CD and stop their older politicians from pursuing anti pak policies.

writing to legislators- long night ahead.

i heard from women fouundation in minneapolis who wrote today to tell me that they had started fund raising for idps…mission accomplished.

Nuclear Day today- ZABhutto came up with the idea and began it-Nawaz Sharif exploded it- President Musharraf built protective controls around it to make it safer – And we including the state will continue to protect it- making Pakistan safer.

Peshawer blasts- we condemn it- we codnemn terrorism- we condemn all insinuations of US boots on ground policy- its our country and we will handle it through a committed armed forces and state response to crush the militants.

 

May 27

Attack on Lahore is an attack on state which is condemend by all and mourned by all. State should handle collateral damage and deal extra firmly with such elements in the future. We stand united against terrorism.

Houston- Equal opportunity Commission- excellent visit- i will start a similar commission at home- i have always fought against discriminations of all kinds- wealth in diversity remember- so this is perfect legislation for me to propose- its a huge project- if govt doesnt agree will work on it when we are in power- but as part of my ‘just’ pakistan its high on the list

Houston Chronicle interview on aid clauses

Flight to Raleigh North Carolina

Long night ahead in the business centre writing to US legislators

 

May 26

Baker Institute meeting – one of 30 leading think tanks in the US- i want to meet all 30  !! i gave my issues reagrding pak- special focus on conflict resolution rather than management thus i brought up kashmir as being central to reducing extremism. it was a great conversation – building bridges between us and usa intelligentsia.the ambassadr who met us wrote a book called danger n opportunity which i bought- i gave him my notes i had made for usa legislators- thru book will get to understand his mindset- so we know how to take this conversation forward- i will connect him to other think tanks back home specially for kashmir- we wont reinvent wheel- we will do what others have failed to do…bring kashmir on fore front of usa fp agenda…discussion on inputs to leaders from think tanks- they are specialists in energy also- will get conencted on that too-

lunch with an american pakistani businessman and fellow mna- very frank discussion on how we should be meeting more busienss people since they drive legislators since they fund legislators- the approach suggested is the biggest learning on this tour-

next was meeting at county clerk office- essentially a election commission for one of the counties- interesting process- took notes – have got all sample ballots etc- when the time comes for election process reform thsi experience will be useful

met houston’s controller which is top financial post- now running for mayor- discussion on women in politics- gave her the economic fact sheets on pakistan and the issues she should be aware of so that she is more aware of what issues face  her constituencies pakistani element -

meeting wth 2 leading business people in top 10 fortune 500 companies- i gave an honest business picture of pakistan- bottomline was that we need to clear up extremism and then pakistan is ready for fdi- so for now they should not loose interest- keep engaged- because better fdi times will return and then 170 million pakistani market is great for profitability- imagine this is a govt mnas job- but when i am on foreign soil – i think pakistan first- i want business to come to pak- it doesnt matter whose govt it comes in- we need to reach out to american businesses and explain why their entry is critical for reducing poverty thus extremism- this shld be part of afpak policy frankly- when asked about china’s business focus in pak i  told them how it is still engaged in pak even in these tough times-

dinner for us given by city council member who is pakistani american- bapsi sidwa mp bhandara’s sister also came – i was so happy to meet up wth her and her brother- now a word about all the friends i have made FOR PAKISTAN on this houston leg of this trip- the pakistani american community are the most important elements of teh US-Pak bilateral- they are educated- professionals- resourceful since they fund their legislators- they are sincere to pak- they are moderate- all on one level of pak first- i have built a team pakistan- they are from this day my ADVISORS who will professionally be part of the shadow cabinet ‘virtual’ – they are the real stars- the media of houston was so warm- i am so grateful for all the respect we got- 

 i am eager to keep in touch and work with all of them on improving this bilateral in pak’s favor- its all about connecting us the parliamentarians to the US parliamentarians- and no one else other than this TEAM can do it- i am convinced no one else can- plus their advice on policy issues where they hold professional world level expertise is invaluable-

 

May 25

Memorial day weekend

Wrote artcile for American Pakistani media on US aid issues.

Lunch with Pakistani Chronicle team and Pakistani American community-

Work session with some of the best of this team of Pakistani Americans to fix the article into format which is readable for congressmen/women- mail out prepared for them- we rose above party differences and we worked as a team- it was the right thing to do…i have a team now and so do they when they come to pak- i am glad…

dinner at pakistani consul general’s tonight.

 

May 24

Travel from Minneapolis to Houston

Concerned about being away from son at time of his exams- its a terrible feeling to have- not being there for him when he needs me most- he is most understanding as a 12 year old- family time suffering due to work- this is the life of most politicians-

Went thru the two bills (kerry/berman on the flight) putting a document together for congressmen/women

sent human traficking document to mp judge

prepared 3 statements on situation in pak on idps/kidnappings/ india and sent that to media in pak

workin on bill document till dinenr time…(check ‘US aid but with dignity’ section) for work in progress…

Dinner by Pakistani American community tonight for us in Houston. dinner by PAGH and EMbassy. Met a lot of people. Had some interesting exchanges. useful to understand their liberal, moderate and fresh perspectives on how they view Pakistan and America and teh two combined. Great learning…I made a speech in which apart from money things I spoke of them being the bigegst assets for us outside Pakistan.

 

May 23

Shopping and sight seeing-

Mall of America biggest mall in US I believe – with water theme park inside it- shopped for my 12 year old in the morning- toys and clotehs with him giving me instructions on the phone- he had such a short shopping list- i think he is a considerate child! i had to insist that he shld expand him- its amazing how kids are so focussed and !

sightseeing in the afternoon- lakes of mp- 2 day weekend is a healthy concept- pak shld implement it- give people recreational sane activities like i saw today around lake- picnics, roller blading, jogging- basically people living vs people just working and being scared of extremists- one more mission added to list.

i went back to shopping in the evening for some hunting gifts..watched a movie- back on desk- follow up work to be done-

i am eating all the typical american junk food and loving it! ok dont laugh- i love eating local when i am travelling-its all part of the experience- as a child growing up in paris my sister and i would be v snooty about eating burgers- anything junk food type was just not parisian or civilized enough- and now 24 years later its something i am enjoying!

 

usa print media article shortened to printable size- follow up thankyou emails written to all those visited in minneapolis.

 

May 22

I am writing the article for US magazine as requested by them- its a ‘clear misperception’ mission- lets hope i succeed for pakistan!- i have also uploaded the cspan interview in the talkshow section. have a look at it.

i have acted on the news coming from pakistan…basha dam and mukhtar statement!

first stop on business day 2 in mp… meeting wth a judge at the humphrey institute- university of minnesota- human traficking- i learnt so much- its the check lists of the fix its which she gave as documentation which i find fascinating- i want to go make legislation on this- i want to be an expert in this field-

meeting wth political activist luncheon pizza meeting- she gave the other side of teh american dream – the one that said there is rascism in usa- i have always been shocked wth such disclosures- its not the first time i have heard it- but i still cant believe that usa the land of dreams for many -the democracy! can be rascist- her green party was also something that i found interesting- i want to incorporate green ideals more strongly in my party- i will -its totally doable.

meeting wth mp leading newspaper – pioneer press- i had prepared that article which i gave them. lets c if they publish it.

 

we went to windmill consultants-last slide of presentation most hopeful- tehre exists a fund for this- i will try and get it for thatta…

shopping for red shoes to match wth red bag- and gifts…

dinner wth local hosts- american family- every american i have met so far has been incredibly reasonable and human- eitehr we r being showcased incredible people or the fact is tehre is a difference between govts and citizens/humans- probably a bit of both- we had great conversation- there is a human grid – there are many similarities since i am in the business of looking for them-i want to invite them to pak when we have fixed things in pak and when they as a nation are not so hated. their home was modernistic- i took photos for ideas for future home. on way back we saw what i have seen so far only in american movies- cops stopping checking black boys on a street corner- this is america too.

i got back on my desk at night only to find that i had made it to newsweek…(check press report section)

also my aide informed me that the gilgit baltistan assembly had passed unanimous resolution in my honour bec of my efforts to serve their region post pm delegation- thats big…i am honored. but humbled- i need to serve them more- i need to get them the compensation for the dam that pakistan needs -

by the way…in life u cant always save the day for the state if those in team r hell bent on destroying it either due to ignorance, lack of english language command thus comprehension, or ability to see beyond their vip self /ego. anyway i dont want to say more.

leaders show path ahead- they dont get obsessed with the past and they dont find refuge for current failures in past-they look at fix its for future. they dont follow- they dont say what everyone else says- they say what the others then say- they lead in essence. they dont get led.

.(copyright obama!)- leaders choose forsight rather than fear-they dont pass the buck on- they resolve themselves -they recognise tehre are no neat and easy answers- but they take tough decisions.