Govt. Seized of Overseas Pakistanis’ Problems: Ghauri

A Pakistan Link Report

image12.jpgFullerton, CA: Visibly buoyant and upbeat, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri told a large gathering of Pakistani Americans at the Four Points Sheraton on December 26 that Pakistan was on the march and it was absolutely essential to ensure continuity of endeavors in various national undertakings to sustain the country’s current tempo of growth.

He was speaking at a dinner hosted in his honor by Consul General Noor Mohammad Jadmani and Mrs Jadmani.

The overflowing hall testified to the popularity of the Minister who has lived for several years in Los Angeles and is well acquainted with members of the community. On several occasions, the gathering burst into applause as the Minister called a spade a spade in identifying problems plaguing Pakistan. Throughout the evening, his upbeat mood and candid observations had an enlivening influence on the proceedings.

image8.jpg Mr Ghauri applauded the unflagging strivings of President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to usher a wholesome change on several fronts in the country. These strivings needed to be sustained, he emphasized, adding, that with time they should gather steam to generate quick, tangible results. The president’s uniform, ort, and similar trivial issues should not be unduly played up to scuttle well-meaning programs for the betterment of the common man. Ungrudgingly, President Musharraf has come to symbolize the country’s forward march and should remain at the helm to steer the country towards his program of enlightened moderation and economic progress.

image20.jpgThe Minister drew a parallel between Sir Syed’s efforts to impart English education to Muslims and President Musharraf’s decision to support the war on terrorism. Both were fiercely opposed by religious zealots but both eventually proved to have been based on sound reasoning.
During the course of his speech, he spiritedly took several jabs at the religious parties forming the MMA. He pointed to the obvious contradictions in what they preached and practiced. The presence of female members of the MMA leaders in the National Assembly, for instance, was a negation of their oft-repeated claims about the role that women ought to play in society.

Minister Ghauri told the gathering of Pakistani Americans that Islamabad was fully seized of their problems and the government was doing its utmost to redress them. He also mentioned a number of schemes, like Alwatan, that the government had launched for the welfare of overseas Pakistanis. He spotlighted several initiatives that the government had taken for ameliorating the lot of overseas Pakistanis.

At the end of his speech, the Minister took several questions from the audience. Mr. Ghauri also lauded the image21.jpgefforts of Consul General Jadmani to provide better facilities to Pakistanis visiting the Consulate.
Earlier, welcoming the Minister, Consul General Jadmani enumerated the services of Mr. Ghauri to the community. He said it was largely because of Mr. Ghauri’s personal interest and efforts that the PIA decided to begin flights from Houston. The establishment of full-fledged consulates in Houston and Chicago was also the result of the personal initiative of Minister Ghauri.

Mr Jadmani also thanked prominent community members who had helped in organizing the dinner, especially Mr Kamal Zafar, Mr Sameen Faruqui, Mr Hamid Malik, and Mr. Arif Mansuri .


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Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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