EFFICIENTLY serving the community is a gift from Almighty Allah, said members of the Pakistani community describing Ch. Shaukat Ali, the outgoing welfare consul at the Consulate General of Pakistan, Jeddah. A function held recently to bid farewell to Ali was organized by Malik Mohiuddin, a member of PML-N, Saudi Arabia; Ch. Mohammed Azim, owner of Zehra restaurant; and Eng. Ch. Shahbaz, a well-known member of the Pakistani community. “Ali is the best welfare consul we have ever had. He did much for the benefit of the community and has helped people by going beyond his call of duty,” said Mohiuddin. “We have requested the Pakistani government to extend his tenure here so that he can continue with the projects he has started; Ali understands our problems and has solutions for them,” he said, adding that Ali will be missed by the Pakistani community. Maqbool Abbasi, a senior journalist, said: “Our country will certainly progress if all our officers and ministers are like him.” Hijab Gul, OIC minister, praised Ali saying: “We have learnt so much from him. He is a very hard working, cooperative and humble officer.” Ghulam Khan, Aftab Qadri, Eng. Shahbaz, Masood Ali, Riyaz Bukhari, Rauf Tahir, Mian Khalid, chairman of Kashmir committee, and Mohammed Jamil, press consul, were present among other community members. Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Ali was all praise for the Pakistani community in the Kingdom. “They are very cooperative and helpful,” he said. Calling Jeddah a ‘mini Pakistan', Ali said he will miss “Ramadan in Saudi Arabia, visits to the holy cities of Makkah and Madina, Tarawih prayers, Iftar parties, and the Pakistani community's gatherings,” he said. Ali said that when he was appointed as consul at the Pakistan Consulate here, he was advised that Jeddah was ‘a difficult place with several problems to tackle'. “I decided to take up the gauntlet. Because the Pakistani community here is large, there are naturally many problems. After my tenure of three years, I think I have done well and have taken the best decisions,” he said. As welfare consul, Ali was successful in his tenure, the highlights of which include his contribution to the higher education of Pakistani students, starting special care centers and a school in Madina, and conducting free medical camps for the poor and needy. He said the supply of manpower from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia in the past three years increased much more than that in previous years. “I worked with various multinational companies and ventures in the Kingdom to enhance the export of manpower from Pakistan,” he said. Illuminating the welfare aspects of the community, Ali said: “There are many problems faced by expatriates here, such as, personal problems, problems back home, work-related problems, educational problems, health problems, etc. I have gone out of my way to deal with these,” he said, thanking Zaighamuddin Azam, the Consul General of Pakistan, for his support. “In solving issues, any officer has to consider how much space he has. Some issues related to local law and order were difficult and beyond our control. It is very important to listen to the problem, understand it and then solve it accordingly. However, there are still many things which need to be done, and I hope the new officer will enthusiastically participate in the process,” Ali said. “If I get another opportunity, I would definitely like to come back to Jeddah,” Ali said. He said the motto of the Pakistani community should be to work together as one nation irrespective of differences in caste, province or groups. The new welfare consul Nasrullah Watoo took charge on Dec. 20.
