Imran Yaqub Dhillon
New York
Diplomacy is tool of influencing the decisions and behaviour of foreign governments and its people, protecting country’s interests through dialogue, negotiations. It becomes more important in times of wars. As a country of 240 million people with strategic location, Pakistan has a lot of significance for the world and our diplomatic corps are leading soldiers in protecting country’s best interests.
This was stated by senior diplomat Consul General Javed Ahmed Umrani at Chicago consulate which deals with matters relating to 12 Midwest states of America.
To aquestion that recently, the Chicago consulate hosted a webinar to mark one year of illegal Indian actions in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, what was the outcome and key points of the event, Javed said they organized webinar to observe the first year of India’s illegal actions in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir on August 7, 2020 and it was a good success. He said Congressman, Steve Watkins, Pakistan ambassador Asad Majeed Khan were keynote speakers. The participants in their speeches highlighted the present situation of human rights violations in IIOJ&K and reiterated to help the just movement of the people of Jammu and Kashmir by extending diplomatic, political and moral support at regional and international foras.
“Chairman Kashmir Solidarity Council, Chicago Javed Rathore, President of Kashmiri Council & Board Member of World Kashmir Awareness Dr. Imtiaz Khan, Deputy Chairman Conservative Party of UK Dr. Saboor Khan along with others were the participants. This event helped a lot in understanding current situation of the held Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Replying an other question, the Consular said, Pakistan Consulate at Chicago is facilitating trade and investment services to businessmen and investors of Midwest and Pakistan. “Though the Office of Commercial Counselor was closed in 2019 and this section is headed by officers having additional charge, we have worked for trade and investment, increasing export of textiles/sports ware, surgical instruments, IT, Medical Billing and setting up call centers in Pakistan. Pakistan imports Aviation parts (BOEING, Cessna) agriculture/ live stocks, grains, soybean, industrial chemicals from United States. In recent years Pakistan has imported 70 percent of its soybean from Midwest of US. Statistics of 2017 show Pakistan Export was US $ M. 420 and import from Midwest, US$ M 359.98 thus balance of trade is in favor of Pakistan .Real estate investment mainly by Pakistani-Americans is also contributing in building Pakistan economy,” Mr Javed said.
Javed Ahmed Umrani said that turist visas from Chicago increased after the introduction of Government’s policy to increase tourism in Pakistan. “The PTI current government liberalized visa regime, including for US nationals who can now be issued visas for up to 5 years, and also decreased visa fees. Understandably, the trend has decreased from March 2020 due to Covid-19 but we hope post pandemic situation will be better,” he said.
Speaking about education, he said there is a well-established setup of Fulbright scholarships for Pakistani students to study in the US. Around 150 students are awarded Fulbright scholarships every year. Furthermore, the Consulate is maintaining contacts with leading Universities of the Midwest to explore academic collaboration between the Universities and HEC, Pakistan. He said the Consulate maintains regular interaction with Pakistani Student Associations in various universities across the Midwest.
He said that the majority of Pakistani-Americans in the Midwest are well-adjusted and are not facing any serious issues. However, some of them have complaints regarding illegal encroachment/occupation of their properties in Pakistan. In case of filing a complaint at legal forum, they face long legal procedures. Some members of the community have also experienced fraud while doing business in Pakistan. The Consulate regularly conveys such concerns to the relevant authorities in Pakistan for facilitation/ resolution.
Likewise, the community has been greatly facilitated with the introduction of online issuance of Pakistani Passport, Visa, NICOP etc .In case of any complaint ,The matter is referred to relevant ministry in Pakistan and in most cases it is resolved. Chicago Consulate helped 287 stranded Pakistanis during COVID-19 peak time to fly back to Pakistan and few days back, consulate also helped the heirs of a Pakistani Ch Mubashir to send his dead body to Pakistan.
Replying another question, Mr Umrani said that Lahore-Chicago became twin cities in 2007. The former Mayor of Lahore, Mubashir Javed visited Chicago in 2017 an had a meeting with Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emmanuel. They agreed to further augment relations between the two cities through closer cooperation in the fields of tourism, urban development, culture and trade.
Moreover, Sialkot and Bolingbrook, IL. signed a Sister-Cities agreement in 2017. The former Mayor of Bolingbrook, Roger C. Claar led a ten-member delegation of businessmen and officials to Sialkot and Lahore in November 2018. The visiting delegation had meetings with Mayors, Chambers of Commerce and officials of Lahore and Sialkot. Sialkot has named a road as Bolingbrook Road and vice versa.
