Media stories about the possibility of King Charles’ South Asian visit next year that may bring him to Pakistan have once again brought to fore the close ties between Pakistan and the British royalty. The launch of Pakistan Employment Impact Bond by the British Asian Trust (BAT) could be the latest initiative to strengthen this strong bond.
The establishment of BAT in 2007 by the then Prince of Wales and British Asian businessmen has institutionalised Royals’ support to Pakistan and its people across multiple sectors. The Trust has been actively supporting programmes in Pakistan for almost twelve years related mainly to mental healthcare and improvement of livelihoods.
In early 2022, Mian Mohammad Mansha, the leading corporate personality and chairman of Nishat conglomerate and MCB Bank was appointed to be the Chair of the Trust’s Advisory Council in Pakistan.
On the occasion of taking this prestigious position Mian Mansha met with the then Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall. He expressed gratitude for Prince Charles’ efforts and Trust’s continued focus on supporting thousands of women in securing jobs in Pakistan.
Mansha was appointed to this position not just because of his eminent profile as business leader, but also owing to his strong commitment to philanthropy and passionate support to social sector development with focus on young people. He has been insisting that no country can be expected to make progress if half of its population (women) remains inactive and non-productive.
He feels proud to state that his wife and other women in family are successfully heading companies in several sectors. In line with his vision of financial inclusion and equal opportunities for women, MCB Bank is engaged in assisting women by offering affordable credit facilities for establishing businesses.
Last month Head of Nishat Group of Companies along with his wife met with their Majesties King Charles and the Queen Camilla ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa. They discussed the launch of first ever Pakistan Employment Impact Bond by the British Asian Trust. Later Mansha revealed that the King expressed desire to visit Pakistan, adding that the Monarch holds very positive views about Pakistan.
In case the visit takes place, Pakistan will have the honour to be among first few countries to receive His Majesty the King since his accession. Responding to King Charles’ invitation to attend CHOGM last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted that “The British Monarch and Royal Family have been great friends of Pakistan”.
There exists a happy history of Royals’ trips to Pakistan beginning from the twin tours of their Majesties Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh in 1961 and 1997, the three visits of Princess of Wales followed by the visit in 2006 of Charles, then Prince of Wales. Next were the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to visit Pakistan in 2019.
In a recent media interaction, Mian Mansha said that the Royal family being cognizant of our challenges has been very supportive of Pakistan. In fact creating education and employment solutions for the youth have been close to the heart of King Charles.
During his visit in 2006 Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla had attended the launch of the Prince’s Youth Business International Scheme aimed at helping disadvantaged young people realise their full potential to become entrepreneurs. Several years later King Charles in his capacity as Head of Commonwealth reiterated his vision at CHOGM-2024 by stating that he has tried, in whatever way he could, to foster opportunity, particularly for young people in the domains of education, skill training and employment.
Being a staunch believer in women’s enterprising role in the economy, Mansha is of the view that BAT’s upcoming initiative in collaboration with British Pakistanis has a better chance of success in the Punjab. In partnership with the Punjab Skills Development Fund, the Employment Bond aims to support fifteen to twenty thousand young people with around 50 percent of whom will be women. It is believed that this unprecedented initiative would transform the very approach to development finance in addition to developing skills needed for long-term employment.
The Bond carries huge promise for our burgeoning youth as this has been done with tremendous success in India. Skill Impact Bond launched in India in 2021 with funding of US $14.4 million, is already driving employment outcomes by developing skills of 50,000 young Indians, 60 percent of whom will be women. It is thought that the formal launch of the Bond might be a centrepiece feature of King’s likely visit to Pakistan next year.
During his last visit to Pakistan then the Prince of Wales and now King Charles had said: “The challenges we face may seem daunting. But one thing is abundantly clear: the closeness of our partnership equips us supremely well to respond to them.” This spirit has strengthened many-fold since then. 14 November is the Birthday of his Majesty the King Charles III.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
The writer is an Islamabad-based freelancer
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