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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