Pakistani-Americans hope for support

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A local Pakistani-American organization has condemned the attempted car bombing in Times Square. They're also calling for support of Americans of Pakistani descent.

The suspect accused of trying to blow up Times Square is a Pakistani-American accountant who just became a U.S. Citizen last year.

Faizan Haq said, "One person cannot represent the whole country."

Haq was born in Pakistan, too but, doesn't want to stereotyped as a terrorist. He runs his own consulting business in Amherst. In fact, there are a thousand Pakistani-American families just in western New York, people like Fatima Lodhi.

Lodhi said, "I just want to urge citizens living here in America not to let this lone act of one individual to stereotype an entire race."

She knows people who have lost loved ones in America's war on terror. In fact, since 9/11, 30,000 people have been killed in the war in Pakistan. 8,000 of them were Pakistani soldiers fighting side-by-side with U.S. soldiers.

Haq said, "See, when you think of that person, think also of those 8,000 people who gave their lives for the safety of U.S. and Pakistan who are still fighting in the trenches so this country can be more secure."

And while the images of Pakistan this week may show the terrorist training camp in South Waziristan that investigators believe Faisal Shahzad went to, even the other images of Pakistan may not give us the whole picture of the larger cities there, more like New York.

"You know, if you walk the streets of Islamabad, there's women wearing jeans, wearing shirts, wearing skirts, ya know," said Lodhi.

Haq added, "The Pakistani community in America really needs the support of society at large. If there was ever a time, this is the time. One bad apple does not define the character of a nation."

The suspect in the bomb attempt is apparently providing so much information to authorities that they still haven't brought him into court now 48 hours after his arrest.