Adeel Akbar, General Secretary of Pakistan Arts Society-Qatar
DOHA: Like millions of people in Pakistan, Pakistani community in Qatar too has celebrated sensational yet expected victory of cricketer turned politician Imran Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2018 General Elections held on July 25 in Pakistan with hopes that this win will bring a real ‘change’ in the country.
Adeel Akbar, a prominent Pakistani community member, said that like thousands of other Pakistanis in Qatar he was excitedly engaged in Pakistan’s elections activities via minute-to-minute monitoring of the process on TV screens.
“The interest and curiosity level of community was very high due to close contest between leading political figures of Pakistan especially former star cricketer Imran Khan,” he said, adding that another factor behind community’s interest was the slogan of change.
“Like millions of citizens in Pakistan, overseas Pakistanis also want change. They want a government which can better deliver and address multiple issues confronting the nation like ailing economy with a clear vision and far sighted approach,” Akbar added.
Rana Anwar Ali, Chairman of Sohni Dharti,
Adeel Akbar, who is also general secretary of Pakistan Arts Society-Qatar, said that he was optimistic that change in command in Pakistan government would cast positive and constructive effects on Pakistan’s economic and governance related issues.
Abrar Hussain, another Pakistani expat who is associated with Qatar’s oil and gas sector for the last twenty years appreciated change in Pakistan saying that new government should put Pakistan on the track of progress, prosperity, development and tolerance.
“Overseas Pakistanis always take special interest in governments back home and their performance as they compare their governance with the governance models of residing countries. There are many challenges which the new government will have to address and being an overseas Pakistani I hope the new government under its slogan of change and transparency will deliver what they promised,” he added.
Pakistani expatriates in Qatar like all other Pakistanis have different political affiliations but after 2018 General Elections in which Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz - political party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif - failed to secure mandate to form government, majority of community members think that it is time to move forward with the newly-elected government forgetting all past political differences.
Muhammad Khalid Qureshi, a Pakistani community expatriate.
Rana Anwar Ali, chairman of Sohni Dharti, a Doha-based community organization, said that Pakistani community in Qatar was very excited over elections in Pakistan.
“Overseas Pakistanis want an end to bad governance and other obstinate problems like corruption in Pakistan therefore the interest level of community in these elections was extraordinarily high,” he said.
Anwar said that the elections were well-organized and conducted in fair, transparent environment. “We as overseas Pakistanis are largely satisfied with the results of the elections and are confident that the new government of PTI under Imran Khan leadership would deliver a good governance to the nation,” he added.
Commenting on Pakistan elections, another Pakistani expatriate Muhammad Khalid Qureshi demanded the right of franchise for overseas Pakistanis in next general elections. “We also want to become part of election process therefore before next general elections, Pakistan government should make arrangements to give us the right of franchise,” he added.
Khalid said that the new PTI government should focus on transparency, economic uplift and countering extremism and terrorism which were the biggest problems of Pakistan.
