Pakistanis denounce U.S. Embassy's gay rights party as 'cultural terrorism'

Pakistanis denounce U.S. Embassy’s gay rights party as ‘cultural terrorism’
by Peter J. Smith, LifeSiteNews.com
July 26, 2011

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A U.S. Embassy party in Islamabad billed as a celebration of homosexual rights inflamed conservative Pakistani groups, who condemned the event as an act of “cultural terrorism” aimed at the country’s Islamic values.

The U.S. Embassy held a “gay pride” celebration on June 26, the first ever promotion of homosexual rights by U.S. diplomats in the Islamic nation.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that a coalition of religious and political leaders, including Pakistan’s largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, released a statement condemning the U.S. government’s homosexual advocacy, calling it the “worst social and cultural terrorism against Pakistan.”

The group called it the second most dangerous U.S. attack on Pakistan, following the unmanned drone attacks carried out by U.S. forces on suspected Islamic terrorists.

According to the AP, U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Hoagland hosted the party, which was co-sponsored by Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies. Seventy-five individuals attended the party to show solidarity with homosexuals seeking social and political acceptance in the country.

“I want to be clear: the U.S. Embassy is here to support you and stand by your side every step of the way,” stated Hoagland.

The AP adds that Pakistan’s penal code punishes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” with a fine, prison sentences between two years to life, or both. Homosexual acts may also merit the death penalty under Sharia law.

The embassy’s public revelation of the celebration after the fact provoked protests in major cities across Pakistan, fanning anti-American resentment.

“We condemn the American conspiracy to encourage bisexualism in our country,” said Mohammad Hussain Mehnati, Karachi’s chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami, according to the Express Tribune. Over 100 persons reportedly attended the demonstration.

“They have destroyed us physically, imposed the so-called war on terrorism on us and now they have unleashed cultural terrorism on us.”

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