The former US Congressman from the state of New Hampshire Engr. Saghir A. Tahir has said that Pakistan's resources are attracting American policymakers. While addressing a conference organised by Pakistan Visionary Forum on the topic of "Pakistan's present circumstances and the way out" in Lahore, Saghir A. Tahir said the US is a land of opportunities due to social justice while Pakistani community is split in small groups there and that was why Pakistani lobby is ineffective as compared to Indian lobby.
He said he was elected as the only Muslim Pakistani American citizen from New Hampshire state without spending even a singly penny. In America, Army officers are patriotic and they always take care of their national interest, he said. According to him, Pakistanis living in America love their country and they are so worried about problems posed to the country. American elected representatives are accountable to their citizens, which is beauty of their political system but in Pakistan people cannot afford to punish corrupt politicians.
He said Muslim world has failed to achieve objectives due to lack of unity but western powers are successful because of their unity. Lieutenant General Ziauddin Khwaja (Retd), former Justice Sharif Hussain Bokhari, Qayyum Nizami, Dr Muhammad Sadiq, Engr. Abdul Majeed Khan, Zubair Sheikh, Engr. Muhammad Azeem, Jameel Gishkori, Brigadier Farooq Hameed Khan (Retd) and others also spoke on the occasion.
Saghir Tahir further said that economic crisis in Pakistan was due to lack of justice and unequal distribution of resources amongst various classes and masses of the society. There are several laws in Pakistan but no implementation, he added. Policemen and Tehsildari driven governance system should be ceased to exist, otherwise, Pakistan will be left far behind in this fast paced, highly competitive and rapidly developing world.
He said, "It should be understood by every Pakistani that beggar and weaker nations can't negotiate on equal terms with economically strong, aid giving countries. In Pakistan, politicians come from the top whereas honest and capable politicians from the lower middle class should join the parliament to bring the positive and constructive change in government as done by Turkey and Iran where public servants became the Prime Ministers."
Continuous free, fair and transparent elections under democratic system can be beneficial for strengthening a deliverable political system in Pakistan rather military dictatorships, Saghir added. Don't be depressed, Pakistan is a country having sufficient resources and the most charitable state of the world, he encouraged. Leaving hopelessness and negativity, we should promote education to ensure creativity and productivity in real sense, he suggested. Ziauddin said most of the P.hDs are in Pakistan Army for which credit goes to the visionary military leadership.