Pakistani Americans Re-elected to New Hampshire State Assembly
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali

Pakistani American community is elated with the election of two Americans of Pakistani origin to the US state legislatures in the November 7 elections.
Saghir Tahir, popularly known as “Saggy,” has been re-elected to the New Hampshire State Assembly.
Saqib Ali has been elected to the Maryland State legislature. He is the first Muslim American in the state legislature officially known as the Maryland House of Delegates.
This is the third time Saghir Tahir, has been elected to the 400-seat New Hampshire House of Representatives, which is the third-largest parliamentary body in the English-speaking world. Only the US Congress and Britain’s Parliament are larger.
He fought for another two-year term as a Republican Party candidate and defeated his Democrat rival although the Republican Party did not fare well in this week’s election nationwide.
Saghir Tahir ran his campaign on his record of duty, integrity and service in the House since 2000 when he was first elected. He has been in politics since 1998 when he first made an unsuccessful attempt for the State House as a Republican candidate.
Saghir Tahir immigrated to the United States from Lahore in 1972 and has been a resident of Manchester, New Hampshire for more than 25 years.
By profession he is a civil engineer and one of the world renowned specialists in the field of roofing and waterproofing who is often called upon to testify as an expert witness in legal proceedings.
Saqib Ali, a Democrat, had defeated the incumbent member Joan F. Stern in the District 39 primary race in last September that assured his success in the Nov. 7 election.
During the election campaign he was endorsed by the Washington Post. The influential paper wrote: “Political newcomer Saqib Ali has shown good command of issues and would bring new vigor to this district's delegation.”
Born in Chicago to Pakistani parents, Ali has lived in Montgomery County since 1991. He holds both Bachelors & Masters degrees in Computer Science from the University of Maryland. He is currently working with a Virginia firm on classified national security projects.

 

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