Pakistani community in Riyadh honors Punjab governor

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) – PML-N Riyadh region, Pakistan’s leading political wing , hosted a reception for Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, a prominent Pakistani politician and current governor of Pakistan’s most populous state — Punjab, on Saturday.
A large gathering of eminent members from the Pakistani community and embassy representatives were present at the function.
Addressing the gathering, Sarwar who was in Riyadh during a short visit to the Kingdom, appraised the contributions of Pakistanis in the Kingdom saying, “Overseas Pakistanis are the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. Nearly, $25 billion is injected annually by overseas Pakistanis adding to Pakistan’s economy. Surrounded by a challenging scenario, overseas remittances are crucial to keeping Pakistan’s economy afloat.”
During the event, Sarwar also dwelled on issues of global unrest and national security. He said, “The major weapon to combat terrorism is through professing ‘equality’ and ‘justice’ for peace and security among different nations of the world.”
“The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has never supported terrorism and it has become a duty incumbent upon every Pakistani to fight and end terrorism because it is alien to Islam,” professed Sarwar.
Rashid Butt, PML-N Riyadh’s senior VP, talked about the problems of the Pakistani community such as schools and higher education apart from other consular issues.
Sarwar also congratulated the Pakistani community and the embassy in Saudi Arabia for overcoming a major hurdle involving the issue of securing land for Pakistan’s community schools in the Kingdom.
Khayyam Akbar, Pakistan Embassy charge d’affaires, announced that the embassy had received permission from the Saudi authorities on Thursday to purchase land for the expansion of the two community schools in Riyadh. He said that the embassy had also been given permission to obtain affiliation with universities in Pakistan for higher studies for children of Pakistani expats living in the Kingdom.
Khayyam thanked the Saudi government for the front line support Pakistan has received whenever required.
He told Arab News that with over 19 lakh Pakistanis in the Kingdom, the 10 community schools including two in Riyadh affiliated to the Pakistan Embassy in the Kingdom were not sufficient to meet the requirements of the constantly growing population.
The program was conducted by Asghar Chishty, PML-N Riyadh’s secretary general.
Businessman Chaudhry Faryad Ahmed presented an ornamental copy of the Holy Qur’an to the governor.
Lauding Muhammad Sarwar’s contribution, Saeed Vaince, PML-N Riyadh’s president, said that he was Britain’s first Muslim MP and gave up his dual citizenship prior to taking charge as the governor of Punjab.
The women’s wing was represented by Arooj Adnan, Saima Asad, Zubida Saeed and Meymoona Rashid who accompanied Parveen Sarwar, the governor’s wife.
The program began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an.