Daily Times

Governor Punjab Chaudhary Sarwar wasn’t too pleased about an opinion piece published in this newspaper which, it turns out, counted on one too many ‘anonymous sources’ in the Pakistani embassy and elsewhere in the United States (US) to build against his motives for going there recently and the manner in which he carried himself while he was there. So we decided to get the facts from the horse’s mouth itself and set the record straight.

“This is not the first time I went there or interacted with overseas Pakistanis, civil society groups, even senators, congressmen/congresswomen, governors and mayors,” he said during an exclusive interview with Daily Times. “And, for the record, when I travel, since my days as a British parliamentarian, I travel at my own expense and I’ve always found Pakistanis both in the country and abroad to be wonderful hosts who have always taken very good care of me.”

He has lived and worked abroad as a businessman and politician for most of his life, so perhaps he understands the value as well as needs of the expatriate community better than most people in government at the moment. Besides, it is the foreign workforce that sends back billions in remittances every year and makes all the difference between keeping the current account deficit in check and utter collapse considering our Balance of Payments (BoP) position – a fact not lost on anybody in the ruling party all the way up to the prime minister.

“Overseas Pakistanis are a real asset for Pakistan; they are the ambassadors of Pakistan,” he said, adding that “whenever there is a challenge or difficulty our brothers and sisters abroad always help Pakistan and the people of Pakistan.”

He’s also quick to point out that if it hadn’t been for the welcome bulge in remittances even in the darkest months of the global recession caused by the pandemic, the economy might not have survived. Even Prime Minister Imran Khan makes sure to mention the crucial role played by overseas Pakistanis and the remittances they send back in keeping the economy, and therefore the country, stable.

“Remittances have increased from around $20-22 billion to $27-28 billion in this period, which helped the economy to no end,” he pointed out.

That, according to him, is why he goes out of his way to engage with overseas Pakistanis as much as possible. It’s good for Pakistan, no doubt, but maybe more needs to be done to facilitate them in return for everything that they do for the country. Similarly, during the US trip too, his top-most priority was to rub shoulders with expatriates there, followed by the Sikh community (because of the work he’s done in relation to realising Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of re-opening the Kartarpur Corridor), and also as wide a spectrum as possible of the American political class – senators, governors, congressmen/women, etc. In fact, Governor Sarwar is the only Pakistani politician to have met with such a large and diverse number of US governors, senators, congressmen/congresswomen and mayors.

Such interactions serve two broad purposes. One, to present and explain Pakistan’s position regarding things like the Afghan war, Pak-India relation and, most importantly, the Kashmir conflict, to more decision-makers than usual official dialogue allows. These are times of monumental change on possibly all three fronts. The Americans are on their way out of Afghanistan and need Pakistan’s help during and after the withdrawal. And the US is now realising that the Indo-Pak conflict has held the entire South Asian region hostage for far too long and it will simply not be solved till something is done about Kashmir. Now, thanks to personal initiatives of people like the Punjab governor and also the Foreign Office, there is a much deeper and wider understanding of these issues in America’s political class than ever before.

And two, to encourage and help Pakistani-Americans engage in the American political process in the way in which he became part of the UK government as an MP.

“The American system is more complex than the British system because it requires a lot more money to engage in politics,” he explained. “That requires the right kind of networking and fund-raising for which our people there (America) need training and encouragement.”

This is precisely the reality that Indians woke up to before us and now use their influence in American politics to lobby for their country’s interests on all important forums leading to the White House.

Also, he hasn’t mentioned it much in the press, but similar personal visits to the European Union (EU) last year, during which he met with dozens of members of European parliament, led to the continuation of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus trade arrangement with the EU that benefitted the whole country. The arrangement, which allowed special duty breaks to Pakistani textile products exported to the Union, began in 2013-14 and improved our export earnings from the region from $4.5 billion to around $9 billion.

Sarwar’s meeting with American senators this time also touched upon moving a resolution in the US senate asking for similar trade concessions for Pakistan, which presently enjoys the advantage of a robust textile industry that has bounced back from the recession and the lockdown ahead of regional competitors.

All this, the governor explained, stemmed from a personal desire to serve the country after a lifetime of doing business and politics in a foreign land. That is why it must hurt him when some “friends” raise questions and point fingers without and proof or justification whatsoever.

What, for example, could he gain personally by getting an MoU signed between the University of California, which is home to the world’s number-one agriculture university, and the Agriculture University Faisalabad, which paves the way for groundbreaking cooperation and research in seed quality, quality of pesticides, impact of climate change, etc? At a time when the government has taken the big risk of defying the IMF and going for an expansionary budget that requires agriculture to achieve full capacity, such arrangements can make the long term difference between just survival and rapid growth of the entire agriculture sector. To top it all, following the governor’s negotiations with California Governor Gavin Newsom and Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, a bill was placed in the assembly of California by House Majority Leader Eloise Reyes to declare Punjab and California ‘Sister States’. Members from the opposition also supported the bill in the assembly, where the governor was given a very warm welcome and a standing ovation. This was made possible by the efforts of the Punjab governor, the Pakistani diaspora and Pakistani officials.

During the visit he met with about 65 prominent community leaders and politicians, of which the more prominent names include Senators Martin Hendrik and Chris Von Hollen and Congressmen Lou Correa, Anthony Brown, Jimmy Gomez, etc.

Also, similar visits have also led to very productive meetings in countries like Uzbekistan, where the governor of Namangan Shavkat Abdurrazakov welcomed the Pakistani delegation very warmly and had the Pakistani flag installed permanently in the Square of Three Fountains adjacent to the governor’s office. Uzbekistan has the finest cotton seed in the world and will now share its expertise with Pakistan, which should help improve the per hectare yield here as well. That visit also resulted in announcement of investments in textiles and other sectors of Punjab.

Governor Sarwar appears very proud of his political and personal service to the country. He refuses to believe that anybody in any Pakistani embassy abroad would harbour any ill will towards him.

“The Pakistani community gave me a very warm welcome in America and everybody everywhere, especially in our embassies, has been very courteous towards me,” he clarified. “Without their help and assistance, it would not be possible to get things done that are in the interest of the whole country.”