Senate condemns US Embassy function
By IMRAN MUKHTAR Submitted 2 days 3 hrs ago ISLAMABAD The Nation (Pakistan) EXCERPT:
- The Senate Friday severely condemned the hosting of a gay pride ceremony by US embassy in Pakistan last month and sent the matter to the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs for taking any possible action.
The committee will see whether the parliament had the jurisdiction to debate the issue in any of its houses and what kind of action could be initiated against the organisers of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) function that was held in the US embassy in Islamabad. It would consider the nature and extent of protocols existing between the two countries. The committee will also have an input from the Foreign Office. One lawmaker from every parliamentary party will sit in the committee.
The matter was referred to the parliamentary committee on the two separate adjournment motions submitted in the house from Jamaat-e-Islami lawmakers, Professor Khurshid Ahmed and Professor Ibrahim. Both the movers wanted a debate in the house on the issue and they will also sit in the committee. US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Ambassador Richard Hoagland and members of Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFFA) on June 26 had hosted first ever GLBT Pride Celebration in US Embassy Islamabad. A press release issued by the embassy said that the Chargé d’Affaires, addressing the Pakistani LGBT activists and acknowledging that the struggle for GLBT rights in Pakistan was still beginning, said: “I want to be clear. The US embassy is here to support you and stand by your side every step of the way.”
END EXCERPT
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By IMRAN MUKHTAR Submitted 2 days 3 hrs ago ISLAMABAD The Nation (Pakistan) EXCERPT:
- The Senate Friday severely condemned the hosting of a gay pride ceremony by US embassy in Pakistan last month and sent the matter to the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs for taking any possible action.
The committee will see whether the parliament had the jurisdiction to debate the issue in any of its houses and what kind of action could be initiated against the organisers of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) function that was held in the US embassy in Islamabad. It would consider the nature and extent of protocols existing between the two countries. The committee will also have an input from the Foreign Office. One lawmaker from every parliamentary party will sit in the committee.
The matter was referred to the parliamentary committee on the two separate adjournment motions submitted in the house from Jamaat-e-Islami lawmakers, Professor Khurshid Ahmed and Professor Ibrahim. Both the movers wanted a debate in the house on the issue and they will also sit in the committee. US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Ambassador Richard Hoagland and members of Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFFA) on June 26 had hosted first ever GLBT Pride Celebration in US Embassy Islamabad. A press release issued by the embassy said that the Chargé d’Affaires, addressing the Pakistani LGBT activists and acknowledging that the struggle for GLBT rights in Pakistan was still beginning, said: “I want to be clear. The US embassy is here to support you and stand by your side every step of the way.”
END EXCERPT
More smart diplomacy...
