As Pakistani-Americans celebrated the new year, the Council on Pakistan Relations (CPR) and the Pakistan American Leadership Center (PAL-C) announced their agreement to merge operations in a unified effort to better serve their shared missions.
The merger of the two celebrated groups will create one of the most influential, well-connected and respected organisations dealing with US-Pakistan relations, leaders of the new organisation said in a statement.
The newly merged organisation will keep the name Council on Pakistan Relations and will have an expanded national network of chapters and board members. The unified Council also welcomed the new Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Jalil Abbas Jilani and pledged to work closely with him.
In recent years, the CPR has focused on advocacy for a trade-based approach to improving relations. PAL-C established the Congressional Pakistan Congress in 2004, which includes over 50 members of the United States Congress.
“We begin this new year with new friends, new optimism, and a new sense of purpose,” said CPR Chairman Ashraf Qazi.
“Through working together and harnessing our complementary strengths, the merger of our two organisations means that we can speak with a unified, credible voice on the greatest challenges facing relations between Pakistan and the United States.”
PAL-C Chair Mossadaq Chughtai echoed those sentiments.
“Pakistan is our motherland, and we would like to work towards its betterment while maintaining the interests of our adopted homeland. By joining our efforts, we are positioning this new organisation to be the critical bridge between nations that is sorely needed. We also invite other organisations with the same mission to join hands with us so that we can find strength in numbers and pool our resources to achieve our common goal.”
