Thread by @WajSKhan

This is a story about terrorism, Pakistan, America and reinventing yourself.

Our story starts in the beautiful city of Islamabad.

There is a think-tank over there called @PICSSIsb.

Like all think-tanks, it holds events about important issues.

Take a good look at this event.

This is an upcoming webinar on #PakUSRelations

In attendance are @Masood__Khan of @PakinUSA, @mgweinbaum of @MiddleEastInst, @MichaelKugelman of @TheWilsonCenter, @AhmerSoofi of @rsilpak, @SaadKhtk of @PICSSIsb, Syed Muhammad Ali & @_AhmedQuraishi

Now, look at the poster again.

What do you think is wrong here (besides the fact that there is no gender diversity)?

Nothing, right?

@PICSSIsb has managed to invite the 'leading lights' in the field to comment.

Like me, you must be looking forward to this conversation (while wishing it were more diverse).

But it IS diverse.

While all the other participants are career professionals -- a diplomat, a lawyer, a journalist, a soldier, think-tankers etc -- there is one who stands out as a true innovator:

The Moderator -- Abdullah Khan @AbdullahKhan333, Managing Director of @PICSSIsb

Abdullah Khan @AbdullahKhan333 is truly talented.

Firstly, he's creative -- even with his name.

See, before he was Abdullah Khan, he was Abdullah Muntazir / Muntazer (source: Lursoft.lv)

Abdullah Khan @AbdullahKhan333 is also very creative with his looks.

Before he looked the way he looks now (below, with his professorial glasses and dark suit), he looked, well, more 'motivated' (with the green background / white kurta).

But why should it matter to us that the Moderator of an upcoming debate about the future of #PakUSRelations has gone through a personal rebranding?

When did innovation become a bad thing?

Only when such innovation covers links to a banned and sanctioned terrorist organization:

Here's what you need to know (if there's too much info in the @Wikipedia screenshot above)

- Khan / Muntazir has worked for jihadist publications (outlawed by Pakistan)
- Khan / Muntazir has worked for a jihadist organization (banned by Pakistan & proscribed by the UN)

But hey, that's Wikipedia. It could be right or wrong, who knows!

Why don't we look up official sources instead?

Well, we did.

And what did we find?

Abdullah Khan / Muntazir is in trouble: he's under sanctions by the @USTreasury

Source:
sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?i…

Why is he under sanctions?

Because of ties with the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET)

What is the LET?

"Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, also known as Army of the Righteous, is one of the largest and most proficient of the Kashmir-focused militant groups."

More by @ODNIgov:

dni.gov/nctc/groups/lt…

So what ties does Abdullah Khan / Muntazir have with LET?
The @USTreasury has the details:
"...As of 2011, Muntazir was still an LET media official, despite presenting himself to the media as an independent scholar..."

Source: home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…

Screenshot:

More @USTreasury details about our Moderator's resume:

- Director of an LET-affiliated media & research organization
- LET's Spokesman for international media
- Raised funds for LET
- Recruited for LET
- Member of LETs political wing

home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…

Recap of what we know so far:

Abdullah Khan aka Muntazir worked for a terrorist outfit which, considering its jihadist mandate, achieved remarkable success, like the Mumbai attacks of 2008

Also, Khan has survived @USTreasury sanctions + gone on to create think-tank: @PICSSIsb

At this point we must ask: why are
@Masood__Khan of @PakinUSA, @mgweinbaum of @MiddleEastInst, @MichaelKugelman of @TheWilsonCenter, @AhmerSoofi of @rsilpak, @SaadKhtk of @PICSSIsb, Syed M. Ali & @_AhmedQuraishi attending a Webinar hosted by a (former?) member of a terrorist org?

I have a feeling that many of the esteemed panelists didn't do their due diligence before agreeing to participate.

That's fine.

Records show that some of them have never interacted with @AbdullahKhan333, or @PICSSIsb, and thus would have no idea about the @USTreasury sanctions.

But at least one panelist knows @AbdullahKhan333.

That's the Ambassador of Pakistan to the US: @Masood__Khan of @PakinUSA

How does @Masood__Khan know the (former?) terror group operator @AbdullahKhan333?

Well, he's hosted him, actually.

(source:

https://twitter.com/Masood__Khan/status/1323621023829426176?s=20

)

See, before he was Ambassador to Washington, @Masood__Khan was the President of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (or as the Indians call it, Pakistan Occupied Kashmir)

This place is relatively peaceful compared to Indian-ruled Kashmir (or, as Pakistan calls it, Illegally Occupied J&K)

Unlike Indian-held Kashmir, there isn't much political or security disturbance in Pakistani-held Kashmir.

That's why, when he was President there, @Masood__Khan took it upon himself to use the President's House to host seminars, like this one, and invite @AbdullahKhan333 there.

This makes perfect sense.

The government in Pakistani-held Kashmir is a proxy of the government of Pakistan, and its leaders are supposed to make pro-Pakistan noises, including hosting seminars that promote "Pakistaniyat" (which means the ideology of Pakistan.

However, should the Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States be participating in a seminar hosted by a sanctioned member of a banned terrorist organization -- especially when the sanctions have been placed by the very country that hosts him / where he is representing Pakistan?

My call to the Ambassador's direct line, as well as my text to him, remained unanswered before I published this thread.

If he had picked up, I would've asked him the following:

1) Why are you, as a Pakistani diplomat, still in touch with this sanctioned individual?

2) Do you think it suits the cause of Pakistan to be associated with a man linked to a terror outfit?

3) Does it help #PakUSRelations that you still choose to participate in this webinar?

As for my other American and Pakistani colleagues @mgweinbaum @MichaelKugelman @AhmerSoofi @SaadKhtk, Syed Muhammad Ali & @_AhmedQuraishi, I'm hoping they reconsider interacting with an internationally sanctioned individual linked to a terrorist outfit.

I'm also hoping that the Government of Pakistan @govpak, Foreign Minister @BBhuttoZardari and @ForeignOfficePk take notice of @AbdullahKhan333 & @PICSSIsb to assess the impact / damage incurred by giving a sanctioned individual and his think tank license to affect foreign policy.

PS: Pak's foreign policy is already in tatters. The country has never been more irrelevant in Washington. When stunts like this are pulled, it's clear that they are by people who should be manning a gun position on the Line of Control -- not strategizing about the future of J&K.

PPS: I’ve just heard from the office of @Masood__Khan as well as from @MichaelKugelman: both have confirmed that are not attending this @PICSSIsb event (Mike Kugelman says he pulled out last night).