Illegal Pakistani Immigrants urged to get back Home
'Pakistan Times' Federal Bureau

ISLAMABAD: Secretary General of the US based ‘Pakistan Day Parade Organization’ (PDPO) Munir Lodhi has urged illegal Pakistani immigrants to return honourably and voluntarily as working environment for illegal immigrants has drastically changed in USA after 9/11.

“Job opportunities have been reduced, high paying jobs are not available and both public and private sectors do not risk to hire illegal immigrants due to security issue,” Munir Lodhi said while addressing a press conference here on Sunday.

Describing the myth behind the Pakistan Day Parade in New York, Lodhi said that prior to Pakistan only Indians held their national day parade and we started it in 1985, and now Pakistan was the only Muslim country to celebrate its national day parade there.

“The then President of Pakistan General Zia-ul-Haq extended generous support to us in organizing Pakistan day parade and since then every government of Pakistan has been following that tradition,” he added.

He said that PDPO was a non-political organization and it did not have any interest in whichever party ruled in Pakistan. He said that now the organization had 38 trustees and charged some $1,000 per person as membership fee annually. He said that some $10,000 were the expenditures of organizing the parade once.

He said that now the parade had become the meeting juncture for the Pakistani families as people participate in the parade with full preparations.

“Pakistan Day parade presents a demonstration of mini-Pakistan as Pakistanis participate in it with fervour and enthusiasm in their regional and national attires.

Most Pakistanis prefer to come in the parade wearing green and white colours’ dressings. It has now become national celebration of the USA as the Mayor of New York participates in it” he added.

He said that the performance of the military band sent by President General Pervez Musharraf for the parade in 2000, pleased and fascinated the mayor of the New York the most.

He urged President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to attend the parade to send a clear picture of a moderate Pakistan to the world.

He criticised the celebrities for demanding huge sums of money for performing in the parade. “All the film actors, actresses and singers demand very high payments for their performances and then they do not perform live as they only do lip-singing,” he added.

Responding to a query he spoke against the corruption on the part of airport staff from the overseas Pakistanis coming back to homeland.

“Overseas Pakistanis do want to invest in Pakistan with a sense of making it economically strong, but they have to face a lot of difficulties and problems in this regard which mars their sentiments of patriotism,” Lodhi added.●