Role of overseas Pakistanis in the development of Pakistan

My Dear Overseas Pakistanis,

,

Seeking your support for some of the projects in Muzaffarabad AJK.

I am trying developing a model for the sustainable education of the orphan children at Sawera schools and I am working on a couple of proposals. One of my projects is to establish a COMMUNITY LEARNING AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER for Kashmiri IDPs especially the Kashmiri Women living in camps since 1990. The indigenous craftswomen of camps will be given raw material as well as training for making some handicrafts which are traditionally purely Kashmiri. This community learning center would provide a nucleus around which we will eventually build the sustainable livelihood programme as well as the next phase of development where we can design some model colony for the camp dwellers with the help of AJK government.

The handicrafts made by the Kashmiri artisans and craftswomen will be exhibited and auctioned at fundraising dinners in London, Manchester and other big cities so as to raise the awareness among Pakistani community regarding the need for better care of the Kashmiri refugees and also for the education of their children.

Part of the proceeds of the auction would be utilized for the education of the camp children in Sawera Schools.

Now we would need the support of the AJK Government to provide us with two pieces of land in Muzaffarabad as well as Karika. The Center will be purpose build on that in both places.

This is of course the medium and long term plan for the livelihood of IDPs and the education of the children. But for the short term I need funds for the immediate needs of the Trust schools. The school immediately needs our attention and the children need books, bags, uniform, warm clothing with the approaching winter. The students in the Karika school especially the girls need the toilet without delay. The Karika School also needs electricity and safe drinking water.
There is a dire need for supplies for the schools and I am trying hard to find some help.

Best Regards
Noreen Haider
Director Madadgar Trust
noreenh111@gmail.com

SHAHANA UNAIS ARTICLE NO 32

She requests all Overseas Pakistanis (OPs) to vote in every election and be ready to vote through Pakistan Embassies. She further says we have to select righ persons and get rid of these political con artists.

I do not understand when one does not have the proper knowledge of anything why to indulge in advising others. Shahana does not have the basic knowledge that Overseas Pakistanis have no right of vote as such how can they vote through Embassy. The Embassies have no arrangements to hold. In Pakistan history only once OPs participated in Refrendum during Musharraf regime.

My sister thus in other words perhaps advises all the Overseas Pakistani to spend at an average Rs. 60,000 minimum travel expense from Middle East for a trip to ensure cast vote in Pakistan and at an average Rs. 180,000 from USA/Europe to prove one a truly civic minded Pakistani.

Her advice to OPs is on the plea that that OPs would select right people and thus get rid of “political-con-artists”. My first question to my sister is are the OPS not from the same general society who select the “political-con artists”?

There was a general belief that since mostly uneducated politicians comes from feudal lord families hence they do not pay any attention for the betterment of the masses and indulge themselves into misrule. It was believed when the lower middle and educated class will come in power they would do eathe real good goverance. This belief died when the real educated and lower middle class MQM came into power. Not doubt it did not come in exclusive power nevertheless what performance it showed the hope and belief of middle class and educated ones died.

Then another belief got generated that since Oversesas Pakistan had seen good governance abroad when they would come into power they will run the country with rationale policies for the betterment of the masses and the country. In the last assembly more about 20 parliamentarians were Overseas Pakistanis settled abroad. Their performance was the worst than feudal uneducated or doubtful degree holder traditional politicians. Take the educated OP of Senator Tareq Azeem seeing him the belief on OPs too had long died.

OPENING OF ACCOUNT

MIHAS through his post above advises someone to tell Pakistani authorities that while country is begging Overseas Pakistanis bring more foreign exchange on the other hand with his hands full of foreign currency bank drafts of huge amounts he is unable to open an account in Lahore as each bank is hesitant opening of account and want to know source of his income. He is dealing online shares transaction hence his inability.

In response to it Mr. OVERSEAS (Post 34) sends Mr. Minhas’s complaint to State Bank of Pakistan. However Overseas wish to know from Minhas which Bank in Lahore he tried to open his new account as SBP may ask for further information. Overseas wants to know which banks Minhas went who refused to which Minhas replies “HSBC and Habib Metropolitan Bank”.

I have full sympathies with Minhas and can feel his pain in not getting his account opened but I would also at the same say that before being critical to the country, nation or institutions one must be clean to himself too. Mr. Overseas has taken the story of Minhas at par as written whereas I can not take his story fully as it definitely has some fishy smell in it.

Minhas went to Banks in Lahore with huge amounts bank drafts in his hand or hand bags. The Banks refused opening of the account and they did it legally and rightly. Since this blog is of Overseas Pakistanis (OPs), I am sure Mr. Minhas must himself is or had been an OP before coming back to Lahore. However that does not matter much. I may increase the knowledge of Minhas as well as alike him who feel everything in Pakistan is black that today if I go to London with my hand full of Bank drafts in pound sterling or to Canada with Bank draft in Canadian dollars or anywhere else no bank will open my account like Banks in Lahore did unless I satisfy them with “documents” my recognized source of income. Since 9/11 the world has agreed to keep a watch on deposits, transactions and dealing of big amounts. All such transactions are properly recorded. For example any of my relative sends me Pak Rs. 10 lacks or above from the middle east the Bank there will not issue the Bank Draft unless my relative fills up a special Form now designed identifying himself as well as showing the purpose of sending money and what is his source of income. Likewise under universally agreed practice when I will deposit the same bank draft in my account in Pakistan the SBP would too require a similar declaration.

Minhas says he is dealing On Line Shares business. Here it is smelling foul. On Line Shares business is a legal business and thousands and thousands are earning their livelihood through this modern gadget. But payment to such people come through established channels. Minhas has not established his own Stock Exchange. He is doing On Line Business through some stock trading company (On Line). Minhas is not selling or busying shares physically directly from registered seller but through some stock trading company. Hence all transactions are through that stock company through which he is dealing as such all payments though debited/credited in Minhas’s account but through the company. Hence any physical payment through a Bank Draft or through electronic transaction (through a bank not directly) will come from that stock trading company. And such a bank draft thus does not come just lying in a post envelope but with a covering letter. Why Minhas is not giving those documents to the Bank enabling it to open the account. In simple words the huge amount bank drafts are coming to Minhas from some people – Minhas just needs to apprise the bank with documents who these people are and why they are sending huge amounts – simply he can do is take a letter from the stock trading company through which he is dealing certifying that he is doing online trading and deposit it with the Bank. The matter will finish.

ALLAH has given the man an item called “use the brain”. To every problem there almost exists a solution. It is generally said the tougher the laws or difficult the technology invented, people use their brain to over come the problem. Due to space and limit of posts in these columns I will quote one example to understand. In 1986-88 I invested Rs. 2000 or perhaps Rs. 2500 with National Savings in Karachi. Being a person employed on a clerical post this was a big amount for me. The National Savings (NS) rules advertised stated investment is transferable from one place to another”. The NS Centre was at about 6 miles from my home. With the development of area after one year a new NS Centre opened near my residence in Karachi. I applied for shifting of my transfer to new centre which was refused on the ground that one place to another meant from one city to another city and not within same city. I took up the matter with the Federal Ombudsman when the National Savings submitted a very non sense that transfer within same city was risky while from one city to another risk free. The National Savings also submitted that however if a specific request is made the Department sympathetically considers within the same city.

Anyhow instead of making a specific request (other words special humbly begging) I used my brain. Using the brain I “deliberately used via Bathinda for some special purpose to make my point which is not the subject here. I applied for transfer to Lahore. In transfer application my address still remained the same as of Karachi. When the account was transferred to Lahore, I applied for its transfer to Sialkot from there to Islamabad and then to Faisalabad where I have never gone in my life. From Faisalabad I applied for transferred to the new centre near my home. This all exercise was to make a point at some forum which is not point here.

Minhas use the ALLAH given brain. Pakistanis living abroad as well as residents in Pakistan under the law are today allowed to keep foreign currency accounts. Ask any relative to send you a 1000 dollar bank draft as “gift”. Open an account with it. Later keep depositing you “huge drafts” if those are not black money.

To every problem there should be some sort of solution but that does not come just in frustration criticizing unnecessary the country.

Last but not the least, I am not aware if Minhas is from that breed like our most of politicians, bureaucrats etc whom huge money keeping coming in from different directions or is a commoner like me. If he is from the class whose eyes does not catch any unexplained deduction on the bank statement of US$ 10, US$50 etc then he can go ahead with any bank top standard banks he named in or like The Money Dollars Bank Limited, The Elite Crore Pati Bank Ltd. Etc but if he has hard earned money then my best advice is to opt National Bank of Pakistan or Habib Bank Limited. Do be brinked by glamour of fully air conditioned bank buildings with superb sofas but opt for real banking service.

Replying for post#34, I went to open account in Lahore to the following Banks:
1-HSBC
2-Habib Metropolitan Bank