LAHORE - Mowahid Hussain Sayed, a prominent Pakistani jurist settled in the United States for the past three decades, said here on Monday that Muslims were not playing an effective role in the world affairs which they should have been on account of their population. He said still more deplorable was the fact that there was no realisation in them about their importance and most of the leaders were interested only in accumulating more wealth and improving their lifestyle rather than doing anything for the collective good of the Ummah. Delivering a lecture on "Challenges being faced by Muslims in US" at the Tehrik-i-Pakistan Workers Trust Building under the chairmanship of TheNation Chief Editor Majid Nizami, he said that wealth was not the yardstick to determine the holder's status in the world. Had it been so, he argued, rich Arab countries would have looked much taller than all other states. Mian Farooq Altaf, Chaudhry Javed Elahi, Begum Mehnaz Rafi, Dr MA Soofi, MPA Rana Arshad, Shahid Rashid and Rafaqat Riaz were also present on the occasion. Mowahid said the fact was that none of the 57 Islamic countries was permanent member of the UN Security Council. Similarly, he said, while the expansion of the world body was under consideration, the likely new members with veto powers were also non-Muslims. He said this should be a matter of serious concern for the Islamic states. He recalled that he had once proposed that Islamic countries should propose Indonesia as a permanent member of the UNSC with veto power because of its largest population compared to other OIC countries. But, he regretted, that his proposal had fallen on deaf ears. He said various forums set up by the Islamic states were toothless and so ineffective that most people did not even know the name of the OIC secretary general, leave alone his performance. Mowahid said King Faisal wanted the OIC countries to strengthen mutual cooperation. However, he said, the Saudi leader was martyred, as a result of which the unity among the Islamic countries was further weakened. He said Pakistan was branded as a fundamentalist state, ignoring the fact that it was Israel and India that fell in this category. Millions of Indian Dalits were leading miserable lives, and still India was regarded as a secular state. Actually, he said, India was a fundamentalist Hindu state. Critical of the system of dynastic politics in Pakistan, Mowahid said it should be shunned without delay. He was of the view that educated people of impeccable integrity should be elected as parliamentarians, and not the brainless or rich. He urged the younger generation to play their role for the purpose. Mowahid said the United States linked Pakistan to terrorism on various occasions, but no leader of the Islamic republic ever called upon the US to pressure Israel to stop committing atrocities on Palestinians. He said that after 9/11, three kinds of terrorism were seen: individual, group and state. He said while the former two were mentioned at various forums, nobody talked of the state terrorism used by India and Israel against Kashmiris and Palestinians. He urged the freedom fighters in Kashmir and Palestine not to get frustrated as their struggle would ultimately bear fruit. "The election of Barack Obama as president of the United States was a major development. Many people believed that Obama was a Muslim. Even if it be assumed that he was not, he was certainly the son of a Muslim," he added. He said Muslims had tremendous potential to make progress and this fact must be kept in mind. Nazaria Pakistan Trust Chairman Majid Nizami said having destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan, the US was now focused on Pakistan and Iran because one had already attained nuclear capability and the other was in the process. He said Iran was acceptable to the US when it was being ruled by Raza Shah Pehlvi. However, he said the "Mujahideen" now in power in Iran were not acceptable to the US. He said Pakistan must beware of the so-called friends like US. He said Muslims living in the US despite a sense of insecurity must be praised. He said it was also great on their part that they were keeping themselves practical Muslims despite the situation prevailing in the US. Nizami called upon the government to stop 'serving' the US and strengthen friendship with China. He said US, India and Israel could be called axis of evil, which Pakistan should keep a distance from.