Heavy-Hitters Clinton, Powell Attend American Pakistan Foundation Inaugural Gala Benefit in NYC

December 15, 2009

The inaugural benefit for the American Pakistan Foundation in New York City was a star-studded event, held at the reputed Ciprianis restaurant last Friday, December 11th. The American Pakistan Foundation claims that it “is committed to establishing a trusted and secure channel for philanthropic efforts, with the highest standards for governance and transparency.”

The organization boasts a short but influential board of directors. Dr. Nafis Sadik, the chairperson, who currently is an advisor to the UN Secretary General as well as Obama’s college friend from Pakistan, about whom Hillary said the following: “Obama’s eyes light up when talking about him.” Nice!

Secretary Clinton and Former Secretary Colin Powell came together to support the event and the cause. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Moeen Quereshi, gave an interesting introduction to Secretary Clinton, calling her, “the 2nd most famous American,” (umm … is he referring to Brangelina as the first? Not sure what happened there.) or “She came painfully close to winning the election” (Really? Do you really need to rub that in her face?) and my ultimate favorite “Its always awkward introducing someone more famous than yourself…” (WOW).

For her part, Secretary Clinton won the crowd over with her speech, but first, she had to get Former Prime Minister Quereshi, saying, “Thank you for the kind introduction Mr. Quereshi. Even though you remained prime minister for three months, your impact was immense…” (HA! You go girl!)

Secretary Clinton went on to reiterate President Obama’s message of having a foreign policy based on mutual respect and working together. It was also refreshing to hear Powell speak about the importance of the next generation.

Despite some personal zings and colorful jokes, the event flowed very well. Reputable Al Jazeera TV journalist Riz Khan served as the Master of Ceremonies, keeping the program light with some mildly misogynistic and racist jokes (all in good fun of course).

All in all the event ran smoothly, and hopefully with such heavy personalities inaugurating the event, the crowd was energized to implement APF’s mission to “improve the social and economic condition of the people of Pakistan”. After such a great kick-off, we look forward to seeing more to come from this esteemed group.

Photo by STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images