Saturday 21 June 2014 08.01 pm
It is 08.01 pm Saturday 21 June 2014; time when now post offices are closed and no question at all of any post mail receipt now. It is this moment complete one month when last month 22 May 2014 His Excellency Mohammad Sarwar Chaudhry, Governor Punjab, addressed the Pakistani community in the over packed Pakistan Club auditorium. He was on a day visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain along with some other elected representatives including “your most loyal” General ® Amjad.
2. Before his arrival it was “fed” that His Excellency was coming “just and only” to hear the complaints and grievances of the Pakistani community. In the given “green green garden high hopes” lot of people prepared their applications. At least three contacted me to draft their.
3. The first ever such a dignitary, self-labelled-friend-of-Pakistanis-working-abroad coming Bahrain was Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed at his capacity of the then Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis. He again today is Member Parliament and every night appears on mini screen untiringly tearing for poor and Pakistanis abroad. Late 90s he came Bahrain. It is well known in the Middle East that afternoons are rest time more particularly the Friday afternoons. That time the labour class invariably took weekly afternoon for complete rest. There was then no mass scale cable network and on Friday afternoon there used to be a weekly Indian film on Saudi channel. Hence, Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis mostly preferred confining themselves within cool of their four-walls. Yet, despite unwilling, just for the sake of and for the honour of the local community leadership the community came to Pakistan Club 03.30 afternoon in extreme heat of summer. The seating arrangement due to large crowd was in the club’s open playground right under the sweltering sunshine. The Minister addressed the community with his usual emotional love rhetoric for the Overseas Pakistanis. During his address and reception a hundred plus people gave him their complaints and applications. While leaving the Club just before the Main Gate he handed over all those papers to the accompanying Ambassador openly saying “Ambassador Sahib, these are mostly against you so you deal all these yourself”. It was not just shame to those who bore the brunt of heat and sacrificed their weekly rest but also an extreme humiliation.
4. I have long stopped attending the Pakistan Club. Sometime early 2000s, Mr. Muhammad Usman the then Member Overseas Pakistanis Advisory Council after his meeting with the then President in Islamabad, told me that the new Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, Tariq Azeem who himself was a long standing Pakistani origin businessmen settled in UK, was a marvelous person and was bent upon to do something for the lot of hapless Pakistanis working abroad. A few months later this marvelous man came to Bahrain. Despite my physical inability believing the quote of Mr. Muhammad usman whom I trust much about the quality of the marvelous man, I honoured the visiting Minister by adding my one head count in the gathering for which I always regret. Like the concept that when a poor man will come into power the fate of Pakistanis would change, there was also a belief today turned wrong that when the Overseas Pakistanis having seen the good governance abroad came into power they would introduce law, discipline and the badly needed good governance. Hearing Tariq Azeem this hope died for ever.
5. Today since long I have no trust on any of our ruler, minister, so the called elected representatives, leader etc if the can deliver in practice. I don’t listen or even read their statements. For me attending the Pakistan Club for the reception of the visiting Governor was just waste of my precious time and of no worth. As is usual the Governor received the applications and written complaints from his audience with a word that back home next day he would take all those issues with relevant authorities and within a week would get them solved.
6. This moment it is just one month complete. None whomever I know has heard anything so far. The Club management who arranged this community gathering I am sure has too no word “now” to explain nor it would.
7. My longstanding friend Muhammad Rafiq Azad is also the one who, too, allured, presented to the visiting Governor his complaint against the Sui Gas Company. To avoid any disappointment to him, I could hardly control myself from advising him not to waste his time in giving the Governor his complaint. Rafiq Azad, my brother like friend, is an educated person, rich in life experience. However, I fail to understand as to why Rafiq Azad can’t understand a very simple thing viz; that a Governor, a representative of the Federal Government, who under the established principle of diplomatic norm was supposed to be seen escorted and accompanied by the Federal Government functionaries here right from the moment of his landing in Bahrain till his take office, could not get any that recognition, how could such a Governor muster in getting the sui authorities moved. My dear Rafiq, forget your application to the Governor. Through this I wish to apprise him that his complaint sent direct to Islamabad under the cover of a recommendatory letter from Honourable Mr. Mohammad Afzal Bhatti, Member, Overseas Pakistani Council, is bringing a formal response from the competent authority during this week starting from tomorrow morning; in case delayed in mail definitely without fail during next week
It is 08.01 pm Saturday 21 June 2014; time when now post offices are closed and no question at all of any post mail receipt now. It is this moment complete one month when last month 22 May 2014 His Excellency Mohammad Sarwar Chaudhry, Governor Punjab, addressed the Pakistani community in the over packed Pakistan Club auditorium. He was on a day visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain along with some other elected representatives including “your most loyal” General ® Amjad.
2. Before his arrival it was “fed” that His Excellency was coming “just and only” to hear the complaints and grievances of the Pakistani community. In the given “green green garden high hopes” lot of people prepared their applications. At least three contacted me to draft their.
3. The first ever such a dignitary, self-labelled-friend-of-Pakistanis-working-abroad coming Bahrain was Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed at his capacity of the then Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis. He again today is Member Parliament and every night appears on mini screen untiringly tearing for poor and Pakistanis abroad. Late 90s he came Bahrain. It is well known in the Middle East that afternoons are rest time more particularly the Friday afternoons. That time the labour class invariably took weekly afternoon for complete rest. There was then no mass scale cable network and on Friday afternoon there used to be a weekly Indian film on Saudi channel. Hence, Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis mostly preferred confining themselves within cool of their four-walls. Yet, despite unwilling, just for the sake of and for the honour of the local community leadership the community came to Pakistan Club 03.30 afternoon in extreme heat of summer. The seating arrangement due to large crowd was in the club’s open playground right under the sweltering sunshine. The Minister addressed the community with his usual emotional love rhetoric for the Overseas Pakistanis. During his address and reception a hundred plus people gave him their complaints and applications. While leaving the Club just before the Main Gate he handed over all those papers to the accompanying Ambassador openly saying “Ambassador Sahib, these are mostly against you so you deal all these yourself”. It was not just shame to those who bore the brunt of heat and sacrificed their weekly rest but also an extreme humiliation.
4. I have long stopped attending the Pakistan Club. Sometime early 2000s, Mr. Muhammad Usman the then Member Overseas Pakistanis Advisory Council after his meeting with the then President in Islamabad, told me that the new Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, Tariq Azeem who himself was a long standing Pakistani origin businessmen settled in UK, was a marvelous person and was bent upon to do something for the lot of hapless Pakistanis working abroad. A few months later this marvelous man came to Bahrain. Despite my physical inability believing the quote of Mr. Muhammad usman whom I trust much about the quality of the marvelous man, I honoured the visiting Minister by adding my one head count in the gathering for which I always regret. Like the concept that when a poor man will come into power the fate of Pakistanis would change, there was also a belief today turned wrong that when the Overseas Pakistanis having seen the good governance abroad came into power they would introduce law, discipline and the badly needed good governance. Hearing Tariq Azeem this hope died for ever.
5. Today since long I have no trust on any of our ruler, minister, so the called elected representatives, leader etc if the can deliver in practice. I don’t listen or even read their statements. For me attending the Pakistan Club for the reception of the visiting Governor was just waste of my precious time and of no worth. As is usual the Governor received the applications and written complaints from his audience with a word that back home next day he would take all those issues with relevant authorities and within a week would get them solved.
6. This moment it is just one month complete. None whomever I know has heard anything so far. The Club management who arranged this community gathering I am sure has too no word “now” to explain nor it would.
7. My longstanding friend Muhammad Rafiq Azad is also the one who, too, allured, presented to the visiting Governor his complaint against the Sui Gas Company. To avoid any disappointment to him, I could hardly control myself from advising him not to waste his time in giving the Governor his complaint. Rafiq Azad, my brother like friend, is an educated person, rich in life experience. However, I fail to understand as to why Rafiq Azad can’t understand a very simple thing viz; that a Governor, a representative of the Federal Government, who under the established principle of diplomatic norm was supposed to be seen escorted and accompanied by the Federal Government functionaries here right from the moment of his landing in Bahrain till his take office, could not get any that recognition, how could such a Governor muster in getting the sui authorities moved. My dear Rafiq, forget your application to the Governor. Through this I wish to apprise him that his complaint sent direct to Islamabad under the cover of a recommendatory letter from Honourable Mr. Mohammad Afzal Bhatti, Member, Overseas Pakistani Council, is bringing a formal response from the competent authority during this week starting from tomorrow morning; in case delayed in mail definitely without fail during next week
