“Political parties should provide an equal opportunity to underprivileged people in politics,” Naeemul Hassan, lord mayor of Manchester, said on Thursday.
He was among the British politicians of Pakistani origin addressing the students at the Government College University.
Stressing the need for equal political representation and participation from all economic groups, Hassan said Pakistan needed to curb terrorism and promote education for its economic development.
“In Britain, political parties finance their candidates’ election campaign. This way, people from the lower middle class can also participate in politics.”
He said his career was an example of such support.
Hassan said there were many people in Pakistan capable of investing in the education sector and urged them to make the contribution.
“It’s their country as well. They should realise that they have a responsibly towards it.”
He later shared with students some incidents from his early career saying he had started as a factory worker. He said he had always been proud of his working background that included driving a cab, hospitality management and working as a community liaison officer. It was a few years later that he pursued higher education. He said his keen interest in justice landed him in a magistrate’s job on the Manchester bench.
Mohammed Afzal Khan, former lord mayor of Manchester and candidate for the European Parliament, said that Pakistan had a quality human resource, but needed a better economic ecosystem. This, he said, would allow effective utilisation of this resource and avoid brain drain from the country.
To a question on the role of dual-citizens in politics, Khan said there was nothing illegal about it. He said many dual-citizens had contributed to UK politics.
Speaking about racism he said while it existed in many countries, it was not very prevalent in Britain. Despite belonging to a minority community in the British society, he said, he had been elected lord mayor and was now a Labour Party candidate for the 2014 European Parliament elections.
He said he would fully support any Pakistanis in Britain.
“An individual’s identity has several different layers, and one layer of my identity is that I am a Pakistani and I love my people.”
Vice Chancellor Khaleequr Rahman said that students’ interaction with important individuals from across the globe played a key role in life at GCU. He said the students were not only motivated by success stories, but also educated on issues of national and international interest.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 28th, 2014.