Pakistani community leaders Faiz Al-Najdi (left), Tariq Soomro (2nd left), Javed Shami (right) and Khayyam Akbar (2nd right), Deputy Head of the Mission and Minister at the Embassy of Pakistan, with Khaled Almaeena, Editor-in-Chief of Saudi Gazette, at a recent meeting in Riyadh. — Courtesy photo Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The Saudi leadership acknowledges and appreciates the contributions of Pakistanis toward the development of Saudi Arabia, said Khaled Almaeena, Editor-in-Chief of Saudi Gazette, at a reception hosted in his honor here recently. Addressing a gathering of Pakistani community members, Almaeena said that the unruly behavior of some Saudis on the streets does not represent the feelings and sentiments of the Saudi people, most of whom hold Pakistanis in high esteem. After his short speech, Almaeena responded to questions from the audience. The questions touched upon many issues, from his life and achievements as a journalist in Saudi Arabia to the grim situation in Pakistan and the region. Responding to a question about the problems besetting Pakistan, he said he was very hopeful that things would turn around. He added that he often saw Pakistanis involved in a fruitless debate on the issue of dictatorship and democracy. Pakistan needed both, he said. “Pakistan needed a sincere leader who would embrace the ideals of democracy and put the country back on the path to progress, peace and prosperity, like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore did, Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia did and even Mao Tse-tung of China once did,” Almaeena said. About the Arab Spring and its fallout in Saudi Arabia, he said that things were quite stable in the Kingdom. “The leadership of Saudi Arabia is alive and cognizant of the facts and is working on all fronts to keep things under control. So, I assure you that there is no need to worry about such issues at the moment,” he added. Responding to a question about women driving in Saudi Arabia, he said that personally he was in favor of it as he visualized this issue from an economic perspective. To a question as to “when he would see himself in the Shoura Council,” Almaeena replied that he was a simple man and not ambitious at all. Earlier in his welcome address, Tariq Soomro highlighted Almaeena's services in promoting the interests and the cause of Pakistan. He said that Pakistanis considered him a true and ardent friend of their country and had great respect and regard for him. Soomro acknowledged that Saudi Gazette had become a leading English language newspaper in the Kingdom and the region under Almaeena's able leadership. “Many Pakistanis today are subscribing to Saudi Gazette,” he said. Faiz Al-Najdi, who conducted the program, read out a detailed profile of Almaeena, tracing and highlighting his career, life and achievements. He said that Khaled Almaeena today was a household name. “When the international media like BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera, PTV, GEO, ARY, etc. need to talk to anyone in Saudi Arabia to seek an expert opinion and views on any issue related to the region, they have only one address here – and that is of Khaled Almaeena.” He said that Almaeena began his career in 1972 with Saudi Arabian Airlines. In 1982, he became the Editor-in-Chief of Arab News. He stepped down in 1993 to head the Saudi Public Relations Company (SPRC), a position he held for eight years. He once again returned to head Arab News in 1998. He was appointed Editor-in-Chief of Saudi Gazette on April 2, 2012. His political and social columns appear regularly in Gulf News, Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Eqtisadiah, Times of Oman, Asian Age, The China Post, etc. Conversant in several languages, Almaeena is proficient in English and Arabic and he is also very skillful in Urdu. He has a wealth of knowledge about the Subcontinent. Almaeena was honored with the coveted and prestigious award of Sitara-e-Pakistan in March 2008. Najdi quoted a paragraph of an open letter Almaeena wrote to Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif which was published in August 2008 at a time when the present Pakistani government was newly installed and there was much turmoil on both the economic and political front: “I am writing this sitting outside a coffee shop in Virginia, a little outside Washington D.C. I hope that my thoughts will be taken in the spirit in which they are written – from someone who deeply loves Pakistan and sincerely cares about it. …..Sitting thousands of miles away but emotionally present in Pakistan, I feel that the time has come for everyone to rise up and confront the danger, reject revenge, put aside personal ambitions, remove malice and enter into a new phase of reconciliation.” Deputy Head of the Mission and Minister at the Embassy of Pakistan in Riyadh Khayyam Akbar, representing Ambassador Muhammad Naeem Khan, said that he greatly valued Almaeena's contributions toward promoting the interest and cause of Pakistan through his editorials and op-ed columns.
