Pakistan businessmen living in South Africa, considering South Africa their second home, are tapping all socio-economic opportunities to transform South Africa into more progressive, economically-sound, liberal and peaceful territory which has robust potential to lead the world.
These views were spelt out by Pakistan South Africa Friendship Society President Rana Abdul Jabbar in an exclusive interview conducted by Pakistan Today at his residence in Cape Town.
Praising cordial and candid gesture of South African government, he said that Pakistanis had been investing their entrepreneur skills to add value to SA’s micro economy. He owed to South African government and its multi-cultural society to provide level playing field to the foreign businessmen to initiate and maintain all sorts of businesses on large or small scale.
Highlighting South Africa’s geographic and economic position in African Continent, Mr. Rana said that the South Africa being considered the gateway to African Continent had turned more lucrative destination to international investors including Pakistani exporters.
After its well-linked road network and railway infrastructure with the neighbouring Southern African Development Countries (SADC), South Africa has been more accessible for business people to penetrate in African markets.
Answering a question Mr. Rana suggested Pakistani business community to emphasize Africa besides their traditional export markets in Europe and USA. He also underlined the need to cement relationships between Pakistani and South African business leaders to develop new joint ventures.
Asked as to how Pak-SA trade ties could improve, he said that trade bodies of both countries should visit and meet on regular basis to create business friendly relationship exploring new trade avenues.
He said that Pakistan was keen to build partnership with South Africa and would like to increase interaction between the two governments and business communities. He also stressed the need for joint efforts so that the trade and economic relations between the two sides could be built on sustainable basis. He called for steps to reactivate the MoU signed between trade bodies in past. He said Pakistan had a tremendous potential for South African businessmen but they could not make any inroads because of unavailability of proper trade related information. South Africa can boost its exports to Pakistan of items like chemicals, gold, diamonds, platinum, metals and minerals, machinery and raw material of steel products to Pakistan, he added. Similarly, Pakistan could increase export of traditional products, like surgical equipment, rice, sport goods to South Africa. Pakistan can supply engineering goods, sanitary goods, machine tools, auto-parts etc to South Africa, he said.
About role of Pakistan High Commission in South Africa to address problems of Pak expatriates, he expressed his satisfaction, saying Pakistan High Commission never Pakistanis left in lurch whenever required. Pakistan South Africa Friendship Society President termed the role of Pakistan High Commissioner to South Africa A H.E Mr. Zaigham Uddin Azam as caring and loving to Pakistani community in the South Africa.
He stressed the expatriate Pakistanis for playing major role in portraying positive image of Pakistan. He added that it was because of the remittances sent by the expat Pakistanis that Pakistan was able to maintain a healthy foreign exchange reserves and underlined the increasing need for sending the same through banking channels. He came hard on the FIA and airport immigration officers for their worst manhandling to most of the Pakistanis holding temporary resident permits and work permits returning back to South Africa after visiting their families in Pakistan. “It happens often that on way back, oversees Pakistanis in South Africa are kept in wait for long hours at airports immigration points, they are frisked inhumanly, their luggage are disorderly checked, derogatory language are used, unfound trivialities are taken out in the traveling documents in the lust of bribery, even the families are traumatized,” he detailed.
“We raised deep concern with Pakistan foreign affair and immigration ministry on ongoing maltreatment and also voiced against it on various platforms,” Jabbar said. However, he sorrowfully said that higher authorities were so far indifferent and unmoved to bring relief to all those becoming victims of the system.
“If South African government allows Pakistani citizens to travel with valid documents meeting all procedural requirements, suspicion by airports immigration officials on outgoing Pakistanis stands nothing.” But it was regretted that Pakistanis always have to face such humiliating situation, he deplored.
Feeling contended, he reacted positively on integration of the Pakistani community into South African society. He called Pakistani dwellers in South Africa as friendly flexible having capability to get adapted and coloured with SA people, its social strata and entire disposition. They related, he said, their success to South Africa success and had been giving their best to keep the South Africa at par excellence.
About anti-foreign riots, he said that it was real nightmare and forced Pakistani people to shift from South Africa to another part of the world. On Feb, 11 2010, Pakistani shopkeepers whose premises were looted had taken refuge in official apartments.More than 60 people were killed in a wave of anti-foreigner riots that swept across the country in 2008.It is learnt that there are up to 2,500 Pakistanis in South Africa, based in various locations across Cape Town, Johannesburg, Guteng and Durban. They are post-Aparthied migrants from Pakistan, and should not be confused with Indian South Africans, who are largely descendants of late 19th and early 20th century immigrants from pre-partition British India although the recent immigrants often live and work in traditionally Indian areas. Many expatriates run Pakistani restaurants or barber shops and the Johannesburg suburb of Fordsburg is said to be among the best places to find Pakistani food. It has often been speculated that various Pakistani crime syndicates operate within the country, most of whom tend to be involved in drug smuggling. In February 2010, a crowd of angry rioters protesting unemployment issues burnt tyres and barricaded roads in a northern township in Johannesburg; local media reported that Pakistani shopkeepers were among those whose premises were looted.
