From Abid Usman
LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Pervaiz Elahi has appointed British Pakistani Makhdoom Syed Tariq Mahmood-ul-Hassan as Vice Chairperson of the Punjab Overseas Commission.
In a notification issued by the Chief Minister’s Office here, Mahmood-ul-Hassan has been notified as vice chairperson of the Punjab Overseas Commission under Section 3(2) of the Punjab Overseas Pakistani Commission Act, 2021. The notification says that Mahmood-ul-Hassan has been appointed with immediate effect. The notification from Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi’s office said that Shaheen Khalid Butt, who served as the vice chairperson until now, has been denotified from his position.
The notification says: “Chief minister Punjab has been pleased to nominate Syed Tariq Makhdoom-ul-Hassan as VC, Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission under section 3(2) of the Punjab Overseas Commission Act 2021 with immediate effect in place of Mr Shaheen Khalid Butt, denitrified.”
Mahmood-ul-Hassan is an acclaimed author, philanthropist and legal expert. He holds a Master in Laws along with a Business degree from Northampton University, United Kingdom.
He is the UK president of the World Congress of Overseas Pakistanis (WCOP). He has previously served in the same position under Usman Buzdar. He was later promoted to become former PM Imran Khan’s adviser on overseas Pakistan and then the govt of PTI was ousted from the centre in a no-confidence vote.
Mahmood-ul-Hassan is the winner of the Brian Tracy Award of Excellence in 2019 and ‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ in 2020. He’s also the founding Chairman of Ali Zamam Trust UK & Pakistan, a charity set up in memory of his two children, who passed away in a road accident and dedicated to uplift the underprivileged and destitute children in Pakistan.
Mahmood-ul-Hassan told this correspondent he was thankful to PTI chairman and CM Elahi for expressing trust in him to serve overseas Pakistanis.
He said that overseas Pakistanis face lots of issues, especially in Punjab, and he will use his new position to work towards resolving these issues, as per the vision of the former prime minister.
He said that he was appointed in the same role again after delivering on all the promises he had made. “When I was appointed to lead the Punjab Overseas Commission last time, I worked day and night to help resolve the issues of overseas Pakistan. I used to give regular performance reports to the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister’s Office. I worked day and night to perform and won the confidence of my leadership. I have been tasked again to deliver for overseas Pakistanis and Inshallah I will do my best.”
Mahmood-ul-Hassan said that chief minister Punjab attaches huge importance to millions of overseas Pakistanis and appreciates their contribution like no one else because he has spent a lot of time overseas and he understands very well how overseas feel for Pakistan and the issues they face.
“The main objectives of the Overseas Pakistanis Commission include the welfare of overseas Pakistanis, addressing their genuine complaints which fall within the provision of the Provincial Government, protection from land grabbing and similar other hazards, facilitation in their investments, removing hurdles and assisting in policy decisions on the basis of suggestions received from overseas Pakistanis. I will do my best to work towards realising the dream of Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi,” he said.
The vice chairperson said that CM Punjab was very keen to help overseas Pakistanis and he will do his best to work under his supervision.
Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission is a Special Institution with the Services and General Administration Department of the Government of Punjab. The Commission is headed by the chairperson, the CM Punjab who devolves his powers to the vice chairperson to run the Commission through the commissioner and respective committees.
