The united Indian expatriate community, with no voting rights nor the eligibility to hold any public office in India, got together to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who till only a year ago, could not even get a visa for the USA. Under the Indian Constitution, an Indian national cannot hold dual nationality and therefore over the years, powerful foreign nationals of Indian origin have learnt not to get involved in local domestic politics of their former motherland, and instead use their energy, resources and clout to promote national interests of India, welcoming every elected Prime Minister on his visit.
While PM Modi was set to meet 30 of the most powerful CEOs of USA multinationals, seeking their investments in his country, having successfully negotiated similar massive investments from China and Japan, the politically divided Pakistani expatriate community was busy protesting to embarrass our elected PM. I have no love lost for Nawaz Sharif, who has disappointed millions by his poor governance. But how could Modi achieve so much in so little time, while PML-N bemoans a tight schedule? How come they had enough time to set up their own personal empire, and did not bring one small change to help the poor? It is time Pakistan realised that its national interests are not served by allowing dual nationals to get involved in domestic political brawls, or allowing them to decide who gets elected, in a country where they have no stakes. Donations by Pakistani origin dual nationals have blinded our political elite and politicized establishment to hazards posed by allowing Pakistani political parties to establish political offices in foreign nations, from where they control fate and destiny of over 180 million Pakistanis.
ALI MALIK,
Lahore, September 28.