Sardar Masood Khan calls for promoting positive image of Pakistan & United States

HOUSTON, Jul 21 (SABAH): Underlining the importance of building solid foundations of mutual trust and promoting positive perception in the interstate relations, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Sardar Muhammad Masood Khan has said that Pakistan and United States should invest more in the tools that help bringing the people of the two countries closer to each other and address the issues of misperception.

“American Centers in past, and now the Lincoln Centres in Pakistan are effectively contributing towards creating a better understanding about the United States. We need to have similar centers in the United States to promote awareness about Pak-US relations and to pass on this legacy to our coming generations,” said Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States.

“Pakistan Chairs in leading Universities of the United States would play a critical role in creating better understanding of the country, its people and the region. We should work to recreate those chairs and starting a few new ones,” he continued.

Ambassador Masood Khan made these remarks while addressing the concluding session of a day-long ‘Conference on Diplomacy for Development’ at Houston, Texas. The community dinner organized by International Academy of Letters USA, Rupani Foundation and Ismaili Council for the South Western USA was attended among others by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst, senior officials from US State Department, business leaders, entrepreneurs, influencers and member of Pakistani diaspora residing in Houston and other parts of the United States.

Addressing a large number of Pakistani-American diaspora, Masood Khan said that there is a need to aggregate and consolidate positive image of both sides.

He said that Pakistan-Americans were the most abiding link of Pak-US relations and they should continue making efforts to bring the people of two countries closer to each other in all possible areas of mutual benefit. He especially lauded the achievements of vibrant community of Houston, Texas and expressed his confidence in their talent and ingenuity.

The Ambassador urged diaspora to have complete confidence in Pakistan and its ability to rise as the leading economy of the world as predicted by World Bank and Goldman Sachs.

The Ambassador briefed the audience on the newly launched initiative, the Special Investment Facilitation Council, which, he said, was created to remove hurdles for investors and to serve as one-window operation for investments.

The Ambassador also assured the community that they could freely travel to Pakistan on their NICOP and there was no truth to the rumors of a list of the overseas for extra screening. He urged them to not pay any heed to such false propaganda.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst, speaking on the occasion, highlighted the momentum that has been generated recently with high level engagements and cooperation in critical areas including climate change, renewable energy, health, counter-terrorism, defense and others. She emphasized that the U.S.-Pakistan relationship stands on its own merits.

Ms. Horst reiterated that there was no truth to allegations against Assistant Secretary Don Lu, which she said, were false and the US government had communicated that both publicly and privately.

“The United States does not have a position on one political candidate or party versus another. We support democratic principles, freedom of expression, and rule of law around equally and around the world. We are prepared to work with any government chosen by the Pakistani people,” she said.

Ms. Horst said that the US was writing a new chapter in its relationship with Pakistan that focused on people and prosperity. “We are working each day through policies and programs to help Pakistan’s industries flourish, to create opportunities for young people, to bolster institutions, and to see the country thrive. This is the vision and dream of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah that we believe can be reached through continued cooperation,” she said.

Earlier, Consul General Muhammad Aftab Chaudhry also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the role of diaspora towards socio-economic development of the United States.

Talking about the contributions of Pakistani diaspora back home, he said that the  biggest contribution towards the development of Pakistan was the attempt to emulate ideas of democracy, freedom and human rights in Pakistan, the ideas and values they had seen, learnt and adopted in the United States. 

“The US was the best incubator and the Pakistani-American community could be the best transmitter,” he said.

The Ambassador thanked the organizers for arranging the interaction and assured the gathering all possible support of Embassy of Pakistan and its Consulates to facilitate their investments and strengthen Pak-US relations.