Syed Mussarat Khalil Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) hosted a reception for Dr. Francis Lamand, President of "Islam and West," at Mehran restaurant for receiving Pride of Excellence (Tamghai Imtiaz) award by President of Pakistan on March 23 in Islamabad. Chief Guest Lamand said that in 1990 when he met Pakistan's President (late) Ghulam Ishaq Khan and requested to host an international conference on Dr. Allama Iqbal. Upon his consent he selected Spain's Qurtuba Hall to organize the conference. To hold a lecture at the proposed venue was a difficult task which required great effort and contacts before he could obtain the approval from the then Pope in Vatican. The conference at the Qurtaba Hall, opened after 800 years, was attended by scores of dignitaries and lovers of Allama Iqbal from Pakistan and other part of the world. This historical achievement proved that Iqbal was not a philosopher and thinker of Pakistan but he proposed and projected ideas of humanity, family living among others, which originated from Islam. "As a humanist and international lawyer I also felt obligated to help PRC in it's mission for the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis and I am glad for supporting it for over two decades. In this regards I met ex-president Musharraf in 2004, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Jeddah in 2006, President Zardari March 23, 2013, myself and Dr. Abdullah Omar Nasseef met director of UNHCR in Geneva in 2005 to seek the status of refugee for stranded Pakistanis. “I am trying to secure appointment with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to meet and convince him to restart the repatriation which he did in the past. I am very optimistic that with him the issue will be resolved soon," he said. Renowned writer and ex-diplomat Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi congratulated Lamand on receiving the prestigious award for the recognition of his services for Pakistan. He said that "Islam and West" is doing great job by highlighting the image of Islam in Europe and I hope that it will succeed in projecting the true Islamic values of humanity, peace, tolerance, which are negatively portrayed in the West. On the subject of stranded Pakistanis, Al-Ghamdi said it is very unfortunate that the issue of stranded Pakistanis is still in limbo for 42 years. However he is confident that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will soon restart the process of repatriation of stranded Pakistanis. He said that Bangladesh also help in solving the issue by offering citizenship to those who want to settle there. During his stay in Pakistan and later in Bangladesh as a diplomat, Al-Ghamdi has closely seen their deplorable condition. Engr. Aizz Ahmed, General Secretary, Pakistan Engineers Society (PES) also congratulated Lamand for his services for Pakistan, which qualified him for award. Renowned community social worker Tariq Mahmoud, Hamid Islam Khan, Sheikh Mohammad Luqman, Shamsuddin Altaf, and Mohammad Amanatullah appreciated the efforts of "Islam and West," Allama Iqbal's philosophy in the West, and congratulated him for receiving the Tamghai Imtiaz. They also appreciated his role in solving the issue of stranded Pakistanis. Convener Ehsanul Haque paid great tribute to Lamand on felicitation of Tamghai Imtiaz. He thanked Al-Ghamdi and other guests for attending the function. The event started with the recitation of a few verses from the Qur'an by Syed Shehabuddin followed by Naat by Sher Afzal. The proceedings were conducted by Abdul Qayyum Wasiq, secretary general of PRC. Abdul Qayyum Wasiq wrote a poem on Lamand in tribute to his services for Pakistan and stranded Pakistanis.
