Javed Jabbar is a distinguished Pakistani author, filmmaker and activist. This public forum at the Mark Taper Auditorium, in the Los Angeles Central Public Library downtown, will be moderated by Asad Abidi, Ph.D. (UCLA). Organized by the Levantine Cultural Center and Zanbeel Art, and cosponsored by the LA Central Public Library, History and Geneology departments.

Javed Jabbar: on Pakistan-U.S.: Anatomy of a RelationshipJabbar will discuss and invite questions and debate on:

• Pakistan and the USA : allies or adversaries?
• Nuclear weapons' security and religious extremism
• Afghanistan-Pakistan and the war on terror
• The way forward...

Pakistan-US: Anatomy of a Relationship is presented as part of the MENA-X, the Middle East/North Africa Exchange series, in which the public is invited to participate in an open forum. Meet Javed Jabbar and moderator Asad Abidi, learn more about Pakistan, Afghanistan and the U.S., engage in discussion on Nov. 1, 7:00-8:30 pm (doors open 6:30 pm), at the Mark Taper Auditorium, LA Central Public Library, 5th and Flower Streets in downtown Los Angeles. RSVPs strongly suggested, 310.657.5511, or email rsvp@levantinecenter.org. Title II of the American with Disabilities Act: The City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and upon request will provide reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities.

This MENA-X organized and cosponsored by Zanbeel Art, the Los Angeles Central Public Library's History and Geneology departments, and the Levantine Cultural Center.

More About MENA-X
The MENA-X lecture series is presented by the Levantine Cultural Center and select community partners. These forums feature incisive talks with experts and guest moderators to help us better understand the complexities of life on the ground in the Middle East and North Africa, and among these communities in diaspora.

More About Javed Jabbar

Javed Jabbar is Chairman and Chief Executive, JJ Media (Pvt.) Ltd., Karachi, Pakistan. The firm is dedicated to producing distinctive content for diverse media. A former Senator & Federal Minister of Pakistan, he takes an active interest in diverse fields including international affairs, voluntary work for rural and urban development, the environment, social issues and mass media. He is associated with conflict resolution and co-operation initiatives between Pakistan and India and in South Asia and is a member of the longest-running (non-media reported) Pakistan-India Track-II process known as the Neemrana Dialogue (since 1992). Javed Jabbar is author most recently of Pakistan-Unique Origins; Unique Destiny? Visit javedjabbar.com.

Asad AbidiAbout the Moderator

Asad Abidi received the BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College, London in 1976, and the PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982. He worked at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill until 1985, and then joined the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles where he is Distinguished Chancellor's Professor of Electrical Engineering. With his students he has developed many of the radio circuits and architectures that define today's mobile devices. From 2007 to 2009, he served as the Founding Dean of the LUMS School of Science & Engineering, Lahore, Pakistan. Abidi received the 2008 IEEE Donald O. Pederson Award in Solid-State Circuits. He is a Fellow of IEEE, and was elected Member of the US National Academy of Engineering. For his contributions to advances in engineering and services to science education in Pakistan, he was elected Associate Fellow of TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world.