MEDIA REQUEST: INTERVIEW WITH FLOTUS FOR

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 002236 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/PPD, S/SRAP, R, AND FPC WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KPAO AF PK SUBJECT: MEDIA REQUEST: INTERVIEW WITH FLOTUS FOR RESPECTED PAKISTANI JOURNALIST JUGNU MOHSIN ¶1. (U) Post would like to support a request by noted Pakistani journalist Jugnu Mohsin for an interview with First Lady Michelle Obama. Ms. Mohsin is one of the leading liberal secular journalists in Pakistan. She is the Managing Editor and Publisher of The Friday Times and a television presenter on Dunya television, one of the most widely watched Urdu language television channels in Pakistan. Ms Mohsin and her husband Najam Sethi, also a well known journalist in Pakistan, were recipients of the 1999 Committee to Protect Journalists' International Press Freedom Award. Together they are two of the most prominent voices calling for religious moderation and constructive engagement with the United States. ¶2. (U) Post believes that an interview with First Lady Michelle Obama on a major Urdu language channel shortly before POTUS co-hosts the Friends of Democratic Pakistan meeting with Prime Minister Brown and President Zardari on September 24th would be an excellent way to highlight the USG's commitment to Pakistan to an often skeptical Pakistani public. The interview would also serve to humanize and soften the image of the United States in a country where public opinion is often anti-American. Pakistan is critical to USG foreign policy interests and post believes that an interview with First Lady Micelle Obama, who is popular in Pakistan, could aid in improving our image in this vital country. Ms. Mohsin told us that the interview would largely focus on women's issues, the role of the First Lady, perceptions of the U.S in Pakistan, and perceptions of Pakistan in the U.S. POC at post is A/PAO Richard Snelsire PATTERSON