Clubs for Pakistani expats to reopen after a decade

Al Ain: Two Pakistani community centres in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain have received permission to open after more than a decade of closure.

The centre will operate under the supervision of the Pakistani embassy as the ambassador will be its chairman, said Dr Zaffar Iqbal, Press Councillor. "It will take approximately a month to make both the centres functional."

The announcement was made by Ahsanullah Khan, Pakistani Ambassador to the UAE, at a community gathering held at the embassy. The gathering was attended by community members, businessmen, and professional from Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

Khan, who is also Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources in the present Pakistani caretaker administration, said the UAE authorities gave permission in a letter to the embassy.

He said the centres were closed for 11 years and community members and the embassy were trying to get the permission for their reopening.

Khan also offered his thanks to President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Both Pakistan and the UAE have been enjoying brotherly relations, Khan said, adding that the reopening of the centres is a goodwill gesture of the UAE leaders to the Pakistani community.

More facilities

Dr Iqbal said the centres would operate as clubs for social and cultural functions of the community, serving both Pakistani families and bachelors living and working in Abu Dhabi.

The centres will be renovated soon and their facilities will be enhanced to offer high quality services to the community. Special attention will also be paid to the needs of children. The embassy had made several announcements about the reopening of the centres but nothing materialised.

A former Pakistani ambassador Saeed Qaiser Hussain had also announced, in March 2004, that the UAE Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs had issued a permission letter.

He even appointed an administrator for Al Ain centre that was also renovated. It was opened and the building was later controlled by the Pakistani school in Al Ain.

The administrator worked till Khan became the new Pakistani ambassador and abolished the post in February 2006.

Reopening of the centres was a longstanding demand of the Pakistani community since they were its only recreational and community platforms. The community was hit hard with the closure of the centres as it was unable to organise any cultural or social event in both the cities.

Dr Talat Mahmoud, a Pakistani community leader in Abu Dhabi, said the absence of social and cultural platform was at the heart of the community.

"We are thankful to the UAE leadership and the efforts of Pakistani ambassador for the reopening of the centres," he said.

Building ties

Dr Mahmoud hoped that both the centres would be run in a good way keeping them away from all political and ethnic divides and activities.

Mohammad Razaq, a community leader in Al Ain, said the closure of the centres had crippled the community as it was unable to organise any social, cultural, and religious event.

"We appreciate the UAE authorities for granting permission," he said, adding that it would further enhance the relations between the two countries.