Govt. Seized of Overseas
Pakistanis’ Problems: Ghauri
A Pakistan Link Report
Fullerton,
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.
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.
The
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 
efforts
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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