KARACHI: Scene was set far from the madding crowd near Chinna Creek here, at the new official residence of the US Consul General where about a thousand Karachiites converged to celebrate the 243^rd anniversary of the signing of American Declaration of Independence with US Ambassador Paul W. Jones, Mrs. Catherine Jones, and CG JoAnne Wagner.

GLEANINGS: 

KARACHI: Ambassador Paul W. Jones addressed the guests. KARACHI: Consul General JoAnne Wagner snapped speaking on the occasion. KARACHI: US Marine Corps Detachment marched in the US flag.

KARACHI: American Anthem (The Star-Spangled Banner)

& Pakistani Anthem (Pak Sir Zameen) were played.

___________________________________________________________________________________

KARACHI: (L-R) Ambassador Paul W. Jones, his wife Catherine Jones, Consul General JoAnne Wagner and Corps Commander Lt. Gen Humayun Aziz jointly cut the ceremonial cake. 

____________________________________________________________

Ambassador Paul W. Jones while addressing the ladies and gentlemen in the audience said:                     

 Assalamalaikum!

Khushamdeed!

Aap sab ko yahan dekh kar bohat khushi hui.

 Thank you for joining us all this evening! On behalf of my wife Catherine and all of us in the US mission to Pakistan, we are delighted that you all are here to celebrate America’s birthday with us.

We know it’s about three months early. But it gets a litter hotter, I understand in July. And there is no harm in an early birthday! So thank you for being here and thank you JoAnne and your entire team for being such terrific representatives of America here in Karachi. And for putting on such a lovely celebration for us this evening. Thank you!

Thank you Corps Commander (Karachi, Lt. General Humayun Aziz)  for joining us. You honor us by your presence and you represent the terrific relationship and close ties we have here in Karachi, in Sindh, in Balochistan, and throughout Pakistan. Thank you!

And it’s great to be back here in Karachi again.

I want to give a special thanks to the American corporate sponsors who made this evening possible and to our friends who loaned us these amazing vintage cars and motorcycles. We would not be enjoying such an event without their support and we are very grateful.

We are also very happy to welcome a very special band, the Air Force Drop Zone Band that came all the way from Qatar to play for us this evening. Let’s give everyone who put together this evening, a big round of applause. Thank you!

I love tonight’s theme, Route 66. I have my very own eye-opening Route 66 experience at the tender age of 21 years old. My impression of route 66 at that time was of a unique someplace sometimes a little offbeat American cultural highway. So I was very surprised to discover that everywhere I’ve served in the world, all the countries that I’ve been to, people are fascinated by Route 66.

I think that’s because Route 66 represents more than an American cultural route. It is a symbol of something deep in our souls that over the road means freedom, adventure and the right of each person to find their own path.

At the same time, Route 66 connected, for the very first time, people from cities and towns running from the great state of Illinois through eight states to the great state of California. You could visit each of those states over here as you enjoy some food this evening.

It brought businesses and opportunities, trade and interactions amongst Americans from different backgrounds to communities all along its path. And in those years, since the opening of Route 66, we’ve seen connections develop not just in regions and communities but across the globe. And that includes this remarkable relationship between the US and Pakistan which will turn 72 years old this coming August. And…the foundation of this relationship will always be our peoples.

Almost half a million Pakistani Americans are thriving in well-educated prosperous parts of the US and they frequently return here to visit family and friends in Pakistan. We build on that foundation every day in the relationship between our countries.

Our two countries contribute to the largest *Fulbright (higher education program) in the world…The US sends over 800 young promising Pakistanis to the US every year on travel, on education exchange programs. And when they return they join the largest US alumni network in the world.

The Pakistani US alumni network is… 29,000 strong. The largest in any country and …both our peoples and countries gain enormously from these experiences that are literally life-changing for the people who participate in them. And the returning people become role models. So these young people are our future and lifetime ambassadors for the relationship between our two countries and peoples. They are a bridge between our countries that only grow stronger every year.

We have much more to celebrate in this relationship including our business ties. Roughly 80 American companies invested in Pakistan and they provide about 1 million (good) jobs (to Pakistanis). And they pay about a billion dollars in taxes every year. And they offer training, professional development, advancement opportunities a safe and respectful workplace, top quality technology transfer, corporate social responsibility program and business ties that help Pakistani businesses grow.

The US is consistently among the top five foreign investors here in Pakistan led by a team of America’s best-known companies. Earlier today I was proud to launch the next stage in the **US Pakistan Women’s Counseling which helps develop female talent, build international economic ties and promote economic growth.

We are also happy to support … trade mission to the US and we are planning to sponsor our own delegation in the energy sector. I would also like to acknowledge in this regard the wonderful work of the ***American Business Council which advocates for US presence in Pakistan and builds commercial ties between our countries.

You know it is amazing that the US is by far Pakistan’s largest export destination. The US and Pakistan are enjoying a mutually beneficial trading relationship which had an all-time high again last year in 2018 of about almost 1 trillion rupees. We still have a lot of room in our trade and our invested relationships, consulates, embassies. Our work stays entirely on these opportunities between our peoples.

We are also very proud of our country’s 70-year enduring partnership and development.  Over here in Sindh, we are building 100 primary, middle and secondary schools in nine districts in northern Sindh and five areas here in Karachi…*****Our five-year Sindh Education Program improves the quality of teaching and increases the access to…learning opportunities for children. The children in these programs receive free education and will grow up to become the next generation of engineers, doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs here in Pakistan….there are no loans involved and we are very proud to be partners in this development effort ongoing with Pakistan.

I started this evening by talking a little bit about the significance of Route 66. How it connects people, how it bolsters economies and encourages trade. Elements that are the foundation of the relationship between our countries. I think the journey ahead is full of opportunities. So let’s take that road, towards a more peaceful and prosperous future with the peoples of our great nations.

 Shukriya,

Pakistan America dosti Zindabad!

____________________________________________________________

CONSUL GENERAL JOANNNE WAGNER SAID:

Ambassador Jones, Mrs. Jones, Corps Commander (Karachi, Lt. General Humayun Aziz), our generous sponsors, fellow diplomats, my superb consulate colleagues, friends, distinguished guests, one and all.

It is a tremendous honor to welcome you here tonight to our consulate to mark our 243^rd anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence.

While we can’t yet celebrate Pakistan’s 243^rd birthday, we can celebrate more than 70 years of friendship between our two countries. As you know the US was one of the very first countries to recognize Pakistan as an independent sovereign country.  I have to tell you this when I visited the Quaid-e-Azam’s tomb (…last summer), I was struck by Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s vision. His profound hopes for this country and his vision were the same as those of the founders of my country.

This shared the radical courageous vision: This dream of creating a new nation where people are entitled to life and liberty; where the country provides opportunities for its people and…peace with its neighbor…It still inspires us today. So despite some ups and downs in our official relationship, I think that the dynamic and enduring business and people to people ties …(will) continue endlessly…

These things convince me that at the core we are more alike than we are different and that’s something to celebrate. I’m honored both to be an American serving in this remarkable country and we share our Independence Day celebration with all of you… Since I arrived in Pakistan last June, my colleagues and I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the warmth and hospitality.

It gives me greater pleasure because tonight we are joined by Ambassador Jones who arrived here in September last year. .. this is his second visit to Karachi and hopefully, it will not be his last. He has served as the United States Ambassador to Malaysia and Poland along with a very deep exposure to South Asia having served as both the Deputy US representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian affairs in Washington DC. Catherine Jones is also a very accomplished woman. She’s both an author and a technology entrepreneur in the fields of health and nutrition. This is her very first visit to Karachi so I hope you are all joining in welcoming her as well. 

____________________________________________________________

A THOUSAND GUESTS: 

US Consulate’s super active and amicable spokesperson Krish Das was seen warmly receiving and introducing the guests to the Ambassador and his wife. Conspicuous among others there were members of the diplomatic corps including Acting Consul General of Afghanistan Hamidullah Tarin, Corps Commander  Lt. Gen Humayun Aziz, Politicians, Businessmen, Artists, Educationists Hunaid H. Lakhani, Professor Dr. Akhtar Baloch, Journalists  Kazi Asad Abid, Hafiz Tariq Mahmood, President Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists G. M. Jamali, Bureaucrats including Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Ali Shallwani, President Arts Council Ahmed Shah (who has recently been awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan)…

____________________________________________________________

THE THEME OF THE NIGHT WAS ROUTE 66:

“I love tonight’s theme, Route 66…I think that’s because Route 66 represents more than an American cultural route. It is a symbol of something deep in our souls that over the road means freedom, adventure and the right of each person to find their own path,” Ambassador Paul W. Jones commented. 

 John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ established the great American tradition of the road trip. In Chapter 12, Steinbeck writes: ”Highway 66 is the main migrant road. … 66 is the path of a people in flight. … 66 is the mother road, the road of flight.” Route 66 represents flight or migration. The migrants are ”refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and shrinking ownership.”

____________________________________________________________

VINTAGE CARS & MOTORCYCLES:

  “I want to give a special thanks to the American corporate sponsors who made this evening possible and to our friends who loaned us these amazing vintage cars and motorcycles. We would not be enjoying such an event without their support and we are very grateful,” Ambassador Paul W. Jones. 

___________________________________________________________________________________’

‘DROP ZONE’, US AIR FORCE CENTRAL COMMAND’S BAND, FLOWN FROM DOHA:

    KARACHI: US Air Force Central Command’s band Drop Zone (  flown from Doha to take part in the celebrations)  played classical, modern rock-n-roll, country, and pop music. 

____________________________________________________________

KARACHI: President Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists

(PFUJ) GM Jamali snapped with Ambassador Paul W. Jones.

KARACHI: Scribe snapped with Ambassador Paul W. Jones

Consul General JoAnne Wagner &  H. Lakhani. 

*