On June 26th the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan sponsored the countries first ever gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender pride celebration. As shown in the above video, Islamic fundie (sorta like our fundamentalists except maybe even worse) organizations responded harshly calling the event “cultural terrorism.” Officials at the US Embassy there said in a statement that the event, co-sponsored by Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies “… demonstrated continued US Embassy support for human rights, including LGBT rights, in Pakistan at a time when those rights are increasingly under attack from extremist elements throughout Pakistani society.”

In a press release the US Embassy stated:

Over 75 people attended [the pride celebration] including Mission Officers, U.S. military representatives, foreign diplomats, and leaders of Pakistani LGBT advocacy groups. In formal remarks, the Chargé [d’Affaires Ambassador Richard Hoagland] underscored President Obama’s May 31, 2011 GLBT Pride Proclamation that, “we rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Addressing the Pakistani LGBT activists, the Chargé, while acknowledging that the struggle for GLBT rights in Pakistan is still beginning, said “I want to be clear: the U.S. Embassy is here to support you and stand by your side every step of the way.”

Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan’s largest Islamic party, issued a statement on behalf of various conservative religious groups saying that homosexuals “…don’t deserve to be Muslim or Pakistani, and the support and protection announced by the US administration for them is the worst social and cultural terrorism against Pakistan,” according to an Associated Press translation. “Such people are the curse of society and social garbage.”

As of yet there has been no comment by Pakistan government officials.

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