4 Pakistan origin MEPs completed term

4 Pakistan origin MEPs completed term

ISLAMABAD, April 24 (APP):Four Pakistani origin Members of European Parliament (MEPs) have completed their term in the parliament which was completing its eighth term this week with its last session taking place in Strasbourg.
Parliamentarians named Sajjad Haider Karim, Amjad Bashir, Wajid Khan and Baroness Nosheena Mobarik played an active role in the plenaries as well as in different parliamentary groups, delegations and committees, a message received here Wednesday said.
Besides working to promote interests of the country, they represented and the European Union in the perspective of international politics, they also took up issues pertaining to Muslims and Pakistan including Kashmir, Palestine and Myanmar.
After the last session of the parliament the Pakistan origin MEPs shared their experiences of working in one of the world’s largest parliament of 751 members.
Dr Sajjad Haider Karim who was awarded Sitara-e- Quaid-e-Azam in 2014 by the government of Pakistan was member of EU Parliament since 2004 and also played an effective role in grant of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)+ status to Pakistan.
He said with his Pakistani roots he took the view that we must do the best to facilitate in improving relationship of the EU with Pakistan.
He said the United Kingdom had always been Pakistan’s best friend in the EU and it wanted to help countries of Commonwealth and South – Asia including Pakistan.
Amjad Bashir got elected as Member of European Parliament in 2014. He raised his voice for Muslims and Pakistan in the European Parliament. He said after the incident of martyrdom of Burhan Wani, he emphatically raised his voice in the European Parliament and drew attention towards the Human Rights violations in Kashmir particularly the use of pellet guns.
His concerns were noted at various levels and Indian government also became cognizant of this fact and when he wanted to visit India as part of the EU Trade Delegation he was denied visa by the Indian government.
Wajid Khan was a new entrant to European Parliament and had only two years in this term of the parliament yet he made remarkable contribution. Most importantly in February 2019, he organized historic “Official Exchange of Views on Situation of Human Rights in Indian occupied Kashmir.”
It was after that the Kashmir issue was taken up officially in the EU parliament. The debate was attended by more than 400 participants including 22 MEPs besides UN’s representative Christine Chung who had also been one of the authors of Report on Human Rights Situation in Kashmir released in June 2018 by the Office of UN High Commissioner on Human Rights.
The government of Pakistan conferred Sitara-e– Quaid-e-Azam on Wajid Khan in March 2019, in recognition of his effective role in the European Parliament particularly for raising issues pertinent to interests of Pakistan.
Baroness Nosheena Mobarik who served as the only Muslim Women Member in this term of the European Parliament said with her long standing relationship with Pakistan she always thought of making a contribution towards improving Pakistan’s relations with the EU.
In this connection, she took a delegation of European Parliamentarians to Pakistan where they got the chance to visit Lahore School of Fashion Design, industrial units and educational institutions besides meetings with the high officials and politicians.
She said this visit changed their perceptions about Pakistan and the delegates termed it as one of their best visits.
After coming back from Pakistan the European Conservatives and Reformists Group organized a conference on Technical Education in Pakistan.
She received Pakistan’s Civil Award Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in 2012 in recognition of her work in improving Pakistan–Scotland relations.

APP Services