Pakistani Political Strife Prompts Action Among Emigres

Asif Shah, a lawyer in the District, watched in mute dismay for years as his homeland was branded a hotbed of Islamic terrorism. Like other members of the Washington area's Pakistani American community, he winced every time someone suggested that Osama bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan but tried to pretend it had nothing to do with him.

Then last month, something snapped in the slight, scholarly man of 57. On TV, he watched demonstrations erupt after military authorities suspended Pakistan's top civilian judge and police attacked a private TV station. He saw lawyers and politicians choking on tear gas and braving police batons.

Unable to remain silent, Shah and a Pakistani friend composed a protest petition and circulated it among their colleagues in the D.C. Bar Association, 106 of whom signed it. The two made photocopies and mailed them to senior U.S. and Pakistani officials.

"We wanted to play a part, however small, in the struggle to bring the rule of law to our country," said Shah, who represents abused children and troubled teenagers in D.C. Superior Court. "I have seen how the law really works in America, how no one here is above justice. Why should that not happen in my country, too?"

Even as a symbolic gesture, Shah's petition -- which asks Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to resign as army chief and hold free elections -- was unusual for a thriving regional immigrant group of about 50,000 that has generally tried to distance itself from Pakistan's travails and focus on getting ahead here.

Pakistani American leaders said they have long struggled to overcome negative stereotypes that persisted even as many of them became successful in business, formed professional associations and began raising funds for U.S. political candidates, including Bill Clinton and, more recently, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Those stereotypes intensified, they said, after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Even though Musharraf quickly established himself as an ally in the Western fight against terrorism, Pakistan remained a high-profile source of Islamic violence, including the gruesome execution of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002.

"When Americans think of Pakistan, they tend to think of men with beards and women with their faces covered, and people who think Osama is a hero," said Irfan Malik, a Howard County businessman who heads the National Association of Pakistani-Americans. "A large percentage of Pakistanis are moderates, who feel their country has done a lot for the U.S. but has not been appreciated. They are looking at two different pictures."

Amina Khan, a lawyer in Northwest Washington, said she felt she had more in common with American-born professional women than with traditional Pakistani village women. She said that she tried to be a "personal ambassador" between Pakistani immigrants and American society but that she often felt put on the defensive.

"People want to put you in a box," said Khan, 37. "It can be very awkward. You have to dissociate yourself from extremist groups you would never associate with. It would be like being an American from the South and having to prove you are not a racist."

Until recently, Musharraf was viewed as an asset to Pakistan's image abroad. His government has arrested several hundred suspected al-Qaeda figures, and the charismatic general was often described as an honest reformer and a moderate Muslim opposed to Islamic fundamentalism.

"People in this region know Musharraf is our ally in the war on terror. They don't perceive it as supporting a dictator to stay in power," Khan said.