Ambassador Haqqani visits St Louis; Pakistani Americans in Missouri raise $ 35000 for Swat IDPs.
WASHINGTON, June 22 (APP): Pakistani-Americans in St Louis, Missouri, raised $ 35,000 in support of the country's relief effort for displaced people of Swat as the country's ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani reaffirmed Islamabad's resolve to rebuild lives of the affected people.
At an event, hosted by Ambassador-at-Large Dr Azfar Malik, the members of the Pakistani-American community including physicians and those serving in other fields of endeavor, pledged to continue their support for the internally displaced persons of Swat and thanked the Pakistani embassy for it encouraging coordination in the aid-raising efforts.
Ambassador Haqqani told the gathering that the democratic government, led by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, is taking the entire nation along in meeting a mix of economic and security challenges facing the country.
In this respect, he underscored that the national consensus built on the issue of fighting violent extremism and pushing back the militants from Northwestern Malakand region has helped deal with problem effectively.
“With national consensus, the government wants to move forward and address problems facing us,” he stated.
He paid rich tributes to former prime minister and PPP leader Benazir Bhutto at the event, that coincided with birthday of the martyred leader, and said she laid down her life to prove the point that the Pakistani nation would defeat parochialism and extremism and move forward as a democracy.
The Pakistani envoy and members of the community also exchanged greetings on Pakistan's spectacular World Twenty20 Cup victory in London Sunday, calling it a heartwarming news for the nation.
In his address, Dr Azfar Malik, said the Pakistani-American community in St Louis, is very much alive to the need to sustain their support for the country, particularly the displaced people of Swat and other valleys as the country government fights off militants.
The large gathering of Pakistani-Americans responded generously to the call for supporting the massive relief and rehabilitation task for internal refugees.
