Pakistan Mirrored To Dutch Eyes

PAKISTAN
MIRRORED TO
DUTCH
EYES
AIZAZAHMAD CHAUDHARY
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Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry senl lhree years as lhe Ambassador of
Iakislan lo lhe NelherIands from 2009 lo 2011. Ambassador
Chaudhry grev u in lhe cily of Lahore. Afler sending some years
al IAI CoIIege Sargodha, he earned his S and MAIoIilicaI Science
from lhe Iun|ab Universily of Lahore and MA in InlernalionaI
ReIalions from lhe Tufls Universily in Massachusells. He |oined lhe
Ioreign Service of Iakislan in 1980, and since lhen has heId various
diIomalic assignmenls in Cairo, Doha, Tehran, Washinglon and
Nev York. Irior lo being lhe Ambassador of Iakislan lo lhe
NelherIands, he served as Deuly Iermanenl Reresenlalive of
Iakislanlolhe Uniled Nalions inNev York Cily vhere he vas noled
for his conlribulionlo UN reform rocess. He aIso served as Direclor
GeneraI for Soulh Asia, acliveIy associaled vilh lhe eace rocess
vilh India, and Ialer as AddilionaI Ioreign Secrelary. He is married
and has lhree chiIdren.
Aboul lhe aulhor
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PAKISTAN
MIRRORED TO
DUTCH
EYES
by
Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary
Coyrighl 2012 by Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary
ook designby IATechnoIogies
AII righls reserved.
No arl of lhis book may be reroduced in any form
or by any eIeclronic or mechanicaI means incIuding
informalion slorage and relrievaI syslems, vilhoul
ermission in vriling from lhe aulhor. The onIy
excelion is by a reviever, vho may quole shorl
excerls inareviev.
Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary
I canbe reached al: aizaz1101+holmaiI.com
ISBN-10: 99- 3s- 0000- 0
ISBN-13: 978-99-3s-0000-0
Sang-e-Meel Publications
25 Shahrah-e-Iakistan (Lower Mall), Lahore-54000 IAKISTAN
Ihones: 37220100-37228143 Fax: 37245101
http://www.sangemeel.come-mail: smpsang-e-meel.com
954.91 Cbaudbary, Aizaz Abmad
Pakistan: Mirrored to Dutcb EyesI Aizaz
Abmad Cbaudbary.-Labore: Sang-e-Meel
Publications, 2012.
150pp.
1. History - Pakistan - Netberlands - Culture.
I. Title.
2012
Iublished by:
Niaz Abmad
Sang-e-Meel Iublications,
Lahore.
PRINTED AT: HAJI HANIF & SONS PRINTERS, LAHORE.
Dedicated to bringing
the peoples oI Pakistan
and The Netherlands
closer
Conlenls
Imressions
The NelherIands mirrored lo my eyes
Selling lhe slage lo mirror Iakislan lo Dulch eyes
Reinforcing oIilicaI bridges
Sorls diIomacy
GaIvanizing cuIluraI herilage
Linking lhrough Commerce
Iakislani Diasora
Reaching oul
Iakislan House
Assessing lhe resuIls
Ind Noles
12
33
48
52
69
80
94
113
128
141
144
147
Ireface
This book is a slory. Il is a slory of friendshi in lhe Iand of
vindmiIIs and cIogs, of dikes and luIis, of fIover fieIds and of
IiberaI vaIueslhe NelherIands. In my lhree years as Ambassador
of Iakislan lo lhis vondrous nalion, I sel forlh on a |ourney lo
romole a broader visionof ro|ecling lhe sofl image of Iakislanin
lhe NelherIands and of romoling underslanding and harmony,
aII in an efforl lo bring our counlries and communilies cIoser. Wilh
lhe heI of my Dulch friends and lhe Iakislani Diasora, I heIed
organize a diverse range of socio-cuIluraI aclivilies inanalleml lo
bring lhis very visionloIife.
Il vas an efforl lhal lurned oul lo be a highIy salisfying exerience,
and indeed a slory vorlhleIIing.
The book begins vilh my ovn imressions aboul lhe Dulch
(NelherIands mirrored lo my eyes), vhom I have found lo be a
dynamic, organized and hardvorking eoIe, as veII as my
refIeclions on lheir oulslanding accomIishmenls as a nalion. Il
lhengoes onlo delaiI lhe range of socio-cuIluraI inilialives ve look
loreachoul loevery vaIk of DulchIife, and inlhe rocess, romole
lhe sofl image of Iakislan. Il describes hov ve reinforced oIilicaI
bridges belveen lhe lvo governmenls and gaIvanized sorls
diIomacy lhrough hockey, crickel, and goIf lournamenls lo vin
friends for Iakislan. Il iIIuslrales hov ve faciIilaled a hosl of
cuIluraI aclivilies by Iakislani Iadies, shov-cased Iakislani cuIlure
and cuisine al mega scaIe lhrough Iakislani cuIluraI and food
feslivaIs, encouraged Iilerary aclivilies and used lhe ubIic
reIalions dimension of lrade romolion aclivilies. And above aII, il
demonslrales hov lhrough aII of lhis, ve mainlained cIose Iiaison
07
vilh Iakislani Dulch communily, vhom I found forlhcoming and
ever-ready lo conlribule lo Iakislan's nalionaI causes and vho
served as a vaIuabIe bridge belveenIakislanand lhe NelherIands.
The book has a osilive orienlalion. Crilicism of any kind, againsl
any individuaI or organizalion, has been scruuIousIy avoided.
Crilicism er se is nol a bad lhing, bul il is beyond lhe scoe of lhis
ro|ecl.
Our endeavors lo mirror Iakislan lo Dulch eyes vere mel vilh
huge success, bul lhis success did nol come vilhoul our share of
chaIIenges. This book resenls a gIimse of lhal efforl. Did ve
achieve vhal ve had sel oul lo do` In many vays ve did. And
vhalever ve accomIished vouId nol have been ossibIe if I did
nol receive lremendous cooeralion from lvo sourceslhe Dulch
Minislry of Ioreign Affairs and Iakislani-Dulch communily
(besides, of course, my ovnIoreignMinislry).
I am gralefuI lo my Dulch and Iakislani friends vho have shared
lheir imressions recorded in lhis book. I am arlicuIarIy lhankfuI
lo Mr. Id Kronenburg, Secrelary GeneraI of lhe Dulch Ioreign
Minislry, for suorling me and lhe Imbassy lhroughoul my slay,
as veII as for vriling a forevord for lhis book. I am aIso gralefuI lo
Mr. }aIiI Abbas }iIani, Ioreign Secrelary lo lhe Governmenl of
Iakislan, for his encouragemenl and for conlribuling lhe second
forevord for lhe book.
I vish lo recognize my son Sameer, a young man of immense
energy and olenliaI, for ediling lhe book, daughler Maheen for
roof-reading il lo make sure lhere vere no lyos, our eIder son
Mubeen, an archilecl vilh a crealive mind, for designing lhe cover
of lhe book, and my vife Na|ia vhose ainling of Scheveningen
beach has rovided lhe mosl al back cover of lhe book. I lhank
lhem aII for conslanlIy urging me lo en dovn lhe slimuIaling
08 Ireface
09 Ireface
exeriences of my slinl in lhe NelherIands. I aIso vish lo lhank IA
TechnoIogies for roviding vaIuabIe suorl lo mosl of our image-
buiIding endeavours and for comosing lhis book.
I hoe lhe readers vouId en|oy reading il as much as I did in
ulling il logelher.
Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry
The Hague, 27 Iebruary 2012
10
Iorevord - I
There is much discussion aboul lhe roIe and funclioning of
embassies in lhe inlernalionaI ursuil of cIose biIaleraI and
muIliIaleraI reIalions. Some argue lhal in lhis fIal, fasl, gIobaIised
vorId, inlernalionaI Ieaders, minislers, CIOs of muIlinalionaI
comanies and olher gIobaI Iayers have so many direcl conlacls
lhal embassies Iay a Iess imorlanl roIe in buiIding and
mainlaining good biIaleraI reIalions.
I beg lo disagree. Il is lrue lhal conlacls in lhis over-connecled,
overIy comIex vorId have inlensified. IncreasingIy, individuaIs,
organizalions, comanies and lhe media are delermining lhe
course of inlernalionaI evenls. The modern diIomal has lo be
roaclive, fIexibIe and veII-connecled, vilh exlensive nelvorks
an individuaI vho doesn'l onIy reIy on governmenl-lo-
governmenl conlacls bul oversees lhe vhoIe seclrum of
inlernalionaI aclivilies and advises his governmenl accordingIy.
If you vanl lo knov hov lo do lhis, I vouId advise you lo read lhis
vonderfuI book by my friend and coIIeague, Ambassador Aizaz
Ahmad Chaudhry. In Iakislan mirrored lo Dulch eyes he gives a
vivid and inleresling accounl of his aclivilies in The Hague over
lhe asl years. Using various forms of diIomacy and his greal
ersonaI skiIIs, he advanced lhe aIready exceIIenl reIalions
belveen Iakislan and lhe NelherIands and romoled muluaI
underslanding belveenour lvocounlries. He is a lruIy 'connecled'
diIomal, nol a byslander bul a key Iayer in inlernalionaI
reIalions.
Ed Krnncnburg
Secrelary-GeneraI
Minislry of Ioreign Affairs,
Kingdom of lhe NelherIands
11
Iorevord II
DiIomalic lheory and raclice has evoIved over lime.
TradilionaIIy, diIomacy vas beller underslood in lerms of
negolialions on mallers of var and eace. Today, il encomasses a
much vider canvas. The diIomals of lvenly firsl cenlury are
execled lo deaI vilh comIex issues of inlernalionaI oIilics,
confIicl, eace-making, counler-lerrorism, economics,
environmenl, cuIlure, and human righls. DiIomacy loday is
aboul vinning friends for lhe counlry you reresenl, nelvorking
vilhinfIuenliaI echeIons loseII your viev oinl, and ro|ecling nol
onIy lhe hard over bul aIso lhe sofl over lo romole your
counlry's inleresls.
Il is in lhis vider conlexl, lhal I came lo areciale lhe
commendabIe vork done by Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad
Chaudhry lo ro|ecl lhe sofl image of Iakislan in lhe NelherIands
and bring Iakislan and lhe NelherIands ever cIoser. ased in
russeIs during 2010-11, as Iakislan's Ambassador lo Iuroean
Union, I vas aIvays imressed and lhriIIed lo receive lhe osilive
nevs coming from lhe neighboring NelherIands.
In lhis informalion age, image and ercelion shae inler-slale
reIalions and have become a key delerminanl of oIicies. Winning
friends, nelvorking, and slaying connecled have become lhe
essence of loday's vorId of diIomacy.
I aIaud Ambassador Chaudhry for disIaying lhe firsl-rale
diIomacy in mirroring Iakislan lo Dulch eyes. I arlicuIarIy
commend his efforls lo mobiIize Iakislani Dulch communily lo
|oin him in lheir shared mission of ro|ecling lhe osilive, lhe reaI,
image of Iakislaninlhe NelherIands.
Ja!i! Abbas Ji!ani
Ioreign Secrelary,
Minislry of Ioreign Affairs,
IsIamic ReubIic of Iakislan
Imressions
Iakislan is a beaulifuI counlry vilh varm eoIe fuII of hosilaIily. I
had lhe riviIege lo visil lhis beaulifuI counlry severaI limes in my
caacily as chairman of lhe Ioreign Affairs Commillee of lhe Dulch
IarIiamenl. ul lhe ma|orily of lhe Dulch eoIe don'l have lhis
oorlunily and for lhem Iakislan and lhe hosilaIily of ils eoIe
remains a myslery and a hidden lreasure. Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad
Chaudry used his caacily as ambassador lo conslrucl a bridge
belveen lhe Dulch eoIe and lhe Iakislani communily, Iiving in lhe
NelherIands. He made a slrong bridge, carrying a Iol of lraffic, moving
lo bolh sides. The iIIars of lhis bridge are described in lhis book and
vere made oul of many aclivilies lo bring Iakislani and Dulch eoIe
logelher. Thanks lo his enlhusiasm and never ending osilive drive
eoIe slarled lo vaIk over his bridge and slarled lo meel each olher.
Throughlhe organisalionof many evenls he gave lhe DulcheoIe an
enormous resenl: more knovIedge of anolher cuIlure and lhe
kindness of Iakislani eoIe. He aIso gave a big resenl lo lhe
Iakislani communily vho chose lo Iive in lhe NelherIands, bul sliII
had some difficuIlies inengaging vilhDulcheoIe.
I became friends vilh Aizaz Chaudry and Iearned a Iol from his
vorIdviev. I am convinced lhal many Iakislani and Dulch vomen,
men and chiIdren mel each olher and became friends lhrough lhe
ro|ecls Ambassador Chaudry slarled. Iriendshi belveen eoIe is
lhe basis of good biIaleraI lies belveen Iakislan and lhe NelherIands.
Through lhis inlercuIluraI mirror ve Iearn more of lhe olher and
ourseIves. This is humandignily and brings |oy and eace. Thank you,
my friend Aizaz! I vish you, your famiIy and your beaulifuI counlry
12
eace and hoe lhal you viI goonas a romolor of humandignily.
Hcnk Jan Ormc!
Member of lhe Dulch IarIiamenl
former Chairman of lhe
Slanding Commillee of Ioreign Affairs
13 Imressions
DiIomacy is a fascinaling |ob, eseciaIIy nov lhe diIomalic
environmenl is changing very quickIy. The diIomal has become a
ubIic diIomal, nol onIy communicaling from governmenl lo
governmenl, bul lruIy inleracling vilh civiI sociely in lheir hosl
counlries. Nev communicalion lechniques have changed lhe
seed of exchanging informalion. Indeed, lhe vorId has become a
gIobaI viIIage in vhich a vide variely of slakehoIders
governmenls, oIilicians, business communily, NGOs, media and
Iobby grous - inleracl vilh each olher in an inlernalionaI Iaying
fieId. Il has beendiscussed oflenlovhal exlenl biIaleraI diIomacy
is sliII reIevanl in loday's' inlernalionaI reIalions. Ambassador
Chaudhry shovs il does.
I mel ambassador Chaudhry for lhe firsl lime in AriI 2009, |usl
afler he arrived in lhe NelherIands. We exchanged informalion on
our cooeralion in diIomalic lraining. Since 2004, over 110 |unior
diIomals from Iakislan have been lrained successfuIIy al lhe
CIingendaeI Inslilule in The Hague. The cooeralion offers an
imorlanl Ialform for lhe exchange of vievs onforeignoIicy, bul
aIso romoles lhe diaIogue and underslanding belveen bolh
counlries.
Ambassador Chaudhry and his slaff suorled our diIomalic
cooeralion varmIy. And during lhe years of Ambassador
Chaudhry's slay in lhe NelherIands he ersislenlIy added nev
forms of seciaIized diIomacy lo our biIaleraI reIalions: sorls
diIomacy, cuIluraI diIomacy, cuIinary diIomacy, Iilerary
diIomacy and lrade diIomacy. Here one senses lhe imorlance
of a diIomal's lask in bringing eoIe logelher, nol onIy by
visiling grous bul more in arlicuIar vilhin lhe NelherIands
belveen lhe Iakislani communily and lhe eoIe of lhe
NelherIands. Sorls, food and cuIlure, il refIecls lhe daiIy Iife of
Imressions 14
eoIe in bolh counlries and Iearns lo see on bolh sides lhe human
faclor inlhe inlernalionaI communicalions.
Rnn Tnn
Direclor CIingendaeI Academy
Iebruary 2012
15
Imressions
Iakislan is one of lhe mosl aclive Slales Iarlies of lhe ChemicaI
Weaons Convenlion since lhe incelion of lhe Organisalion for
lhe Irohibilion of ChemicaI Weaons (OICW) in The Hague.
Iakislan has been serving on lhe Ixeculive CounciI conseculiveIy
for severaI years and conlinues lo hoId lhe osilion of coordinalor
of lhe Asian Grou of Iermanenl Reresenlalives lo lhe OICW. Il
has significanlIy conlribuled lo lhe success of lhe Organisalion
over lhe asl fifleenyears of ils exislence.
In arlicuIar, lhe incumbenl Iermanenl Reresenlalive, His
IxceIIency Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, vho is an exerienced
muIliIaleraI diIomal, demonslraled his skiIIs and visdom lo
faciIilale soIulions lo various sensilive and imorlanl issues
during lhe sessions of lhe Ixeculive CounciI and lhe Conference of
Slales Iarlies. Ambassador Chaudhry has earned lhe resecl of aII
lhe Reresenlalives for his sagacious inlervenlions and ralionaI
robIem soIving skiIIs. WhiIe effecliveIy advancing lhe nalionaI
inleresls of Iakislan, Ambassador Chaudhry has aIso robuslIy
romoled lhe ob|eclives of lhe OICW lovards lhe goaI of a vorId
free of chemicaI veaons.
I lake lhis oorlunily lo congraluIale Ambassador Chaudhry on
lhe successfuI reIease of his Observalions onhis slinl inThe Hague.
I viII aIvays remember lhe cruciaI and dynamic roIe Iayed by
Ambassador Chaudhry in lhe decision making bodies of lhe
OICW and cherishhis friendshi and cooeraliondeeIy.
Ahmct Uzumcu
Direclor GeneraI of Organizalion
for lhe Irohibilion of
ChemicaI Weaons, The Hague
Imressions 16
In lhe many years I have been visiling HoIIand and lhe various
Ambassadors I have mel over lhe years, his exceIIency Mr Aizaz
Chaudhry slands oul Iike a brighl shining slar amongsl lhe many
vivid ones in lhe asl. His aIIure, knovIedge and ersonaIily is lhe
driving force vhichbroughl lhe Iakislani communily logelher, for
lhe firsl lime inlhe NelherIands.
I had lhe riviIege of allending one of lhe quarlerIy communily
meelings Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry heId in The Hague vhich
broughl lo Iighl lhe hard vork, lhe emovermenl he broughl lo
lhe Iakislanis lhere and lhe greal Ieas he made lo lhe lrade,
goodviII, biIaleraI reIalionshis and romoling lhe 'sofl image' of
Iakislan. In lhe meelings ve had I arecialed his assion for our
counlry, his efforls lo bring lhe communily logelher, his drive lo go
above and beyond lhe caII of duly and his humbIe demure.
I onIy vish more of his kind vouId reresenl and romole our
counlry, as il is lhe efforls of lhe Iikes of him vhich can creale a sofl
sol for our counlry and lake our counlry vhere il deserves lo be. I
vishMr Chaudhry lhe very besl inaII his endeavours.
Khushbakht 5hu|aat
Iducalionisl and Member
NalionaI AssembIy of Iakislan
17
Imressions
I am a frequenl visilor lo lhe NelherIands, having been inleracling
vilh lhe lhink lank communily in Germany and NelherIands for
years nov. On each of lhose lris in lhe Iasl lhree years, I gol lo
observe, vilh ralher Ieasanl surrise and a greal sense of ride,
lhe muIlifarious aclivilies of Iakislan Imbassy in lhe NelherIands,
vhich I can say vilh confidence is one of lhe mosl dynamic
diIomalic missions in Iuroe lhal I have seen. I my viev, lhe
credil for lhis dynamism cerlainIy goes lo Ambassador Aizaz
Chaudhry. His efforls lo forge beller underslanding belveen lhe
lvo counlries, as veII as his oulreach lo lhe Iakislani communily
vilhin NelherIands cerlainIy needs admiralion as veII as
emuIalion by olher missions eIsevhere in Iuroe and Americas.
This is reciseIy vhal a diIomalic mission's rimary |ob is aboul
i.e. serving as lhe bridge belveen lhe lvo counlries and lheir
eoIe.
Ivery lime I visil The Hague, I lry lo find some lime lo meel
Ambassador Chaudhry. He shared vilh me lhal aII lhese sorls,
cuIluraI and Iilerary aclivilies vere arl of lhe Iarger vision, lhe
bigger iclure of romoling beller underslanding aboul Iakislan
in lhe NelherIands. So I say, Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry kee u
lhe good vork, and kee buiIding bridges belveen Iakislan and
NelherIands.
Mi|n besle vensen!! esle Wuensche fuer die gule Arbeil, die
olschafler Chaudhry in den Ielzlen }ahren zur efoerderung der
biIaleraIen eziehungen zvischen den NiederIanden und
Iakislan under deren VoeIker geIeislel hal. Iin schooner,
verlvoI I er ei lrag zu besserer Verslaendi gung and
Zusammanarbeil!
Imtiaz Gu!
}ournaIisl/AnaIysl/Aulhor,
and Ixeculive Direclor,
Cenler for Research and
Securily Sludies, IsIamabad
Imressions 18
My firsl imressions of lhe NelherIands, as a lourisl in 1975, vere
lhrough lhe eyes of lhe guide. One couId see beaulifuI
NelherIands, on a bike, a car, lram or bus, bul lhe besl of
Amslerdam, knovn as minialure Iuroe, a cily of fanlaslic
surrises, hovever, canbe en|oyed ona boal ride lhrough50 canaIs
allern vieving 1200 bridges. I have seen lhe Rembrandl's square,
lhe Minl square, severaI museums, arl gaIIeries disIaying vorId
famous ainlers' vorks, lhe diamond-culling faclories, and
keukenhof, vhich hosl luIi feslivaIs every sring. As a lourisl I
Ioved seeing lhe Iand of cheese and vooden shoes, and lhe suerb
SchioI Airorl (Shi's hoIe) 13 feel beIov seaIeveI.
ul my imressions vere besl made in 2010 lhanks lo lhe varmlh
and lhe hosilaIily of our Ambassador His IxceIIency Aizaz
Ahmad Chaudhry and his slaff. As a music comoser, I have
sinned around lhe vorId lvice, ever since 1972, usuaIIy in
coIIaboralion vilh our Iak Missions abroad and our IederaI
Minislries of CuIlure and Informalion, erforming, conducling
and louring, from Madison Square Garden Nev York lo Sydney
Oera House AuslraIia. I musl admil here, lhal I vas slruck by lhe
highnumber, highquaIily, and imacl of somany inilialives by our
Imbassy in The Hague lo romole goodviII, harmony, friendshi
and underslanding belveen lhe communilies of HoIIand and
Iakislan.
I vas iniliaIIy inviled as a Chief |udge lo lhe sixlh Iuroean
Azeemi Naal conlesl 2010 Azeemi Sufi Cenlre, The Hague.
Hovever, during my slay in lhe NelherIands, Iakislan Ladies
AssocialioninThe NelherIands (ILAIN), incoIIaboralionvilhour
Imbassy, aIso arranged al a very shorl nolice, an evening The
Tribule in my honour al our Ambassador's grand residency in lhe
Hague. Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry very graciousIy allended
19
Imressions
lhese evenls vilh me al lhe Sufi Cenlre, organized lvo cuIluraI
evenls Iakislani MeIa and lhe Mango bonanza vhiIe I vas sliII
lhere. The Imbassy aIso very kindIy look me lo a concerl of Dulch
musicians, arranged an invilalion for me lo vilness a modern
concerl by young Dulch musicians. Iver since my relurn lo
Canada, I have reguIarIy been receiving lhe NevsIeller from our
Imbassy off and on.
ased onlhis richexosure lolhe Iife inNelherIands, I cansay vilh
greal Ieasure lhal our Imbassy has eslabIished an exlraordinary
harmonious equalion vilh Iakislani communily and Dulch
eoIe. I ersonaIIy observed lhal hov our Imbassy in HoIIand
vas making sincere efforls on officiaI and semi officiaI IeveIs,
bringing lhe lvo counlries cIoser, and al lhe same lime arising
lhe Dulch communily and lhe Iakislani communily in HoIIand of
lhe foreign and cuIluraI oIicies of Iakislan, romoling sofler,
Iighler and loday's image of Iakislan by organizing socio-cuIluraI
and sorls evenls conslanlIy inAmslerdam and The Hague.
In a nulsheII, my lri lo NelherIands viII aIvays remain
memorabIe for me, nol onIy for lhe evenls heId in my honour, Iike
The Tribule lo me organized by ILAIN, bul aIso lhe lremendous
efforls lhal ourAmbassador, his vife Na|ia, a gracious hosl, and his
slaff al The Hague vere making lo buiId u Iakislan's image. May
AIIahbIess lhese efforls.
5nhai! Rana
Music comoser
Imressions 20
IakislanenNederIand, crickelvriendenvoor hel Ieven!
De Iakislaanse gemeenscha in NederIand kan zich verheugen in
een grool resecl binnen de NederIandse crickelvereId. AIs sorl
in hel aIgemeen verbroederd is crickel daar de vader van.
Immers mel de komsl van de Iakislani is de vriendscha aIsmaar
gegroeid en hel seIeiI van hel NederIandse crickel geslegen. O
dil momenl zi|n bi|na 25% van de NederIandse crickelers van
Iakislaanse afkomsl. Indaarmee vormenzi| eenbeIangri|ke eiIer
inhel NederIandse crickel.
Om ervoor le zorgen dal de verschiIIende cuIluren goed zouden
samengaan zi|n er bi|zondere inilialieven onlIooid, die er loe
hebben geIeid dal er begri is voor eIkaar in hel veId en builen hel
veId. Ien van die inilialieven is in 1987 genomen door Mr. M.I.
Shamsi (1939-2008). Hi| kvam mel hel idee om een |aarIi|kse
vedslri|d le slarlen lussen de besle seIers van NederIand en
Iakislan in NederIand. De loenmaIig ambassadeur en de
voorziller van de KoninkIi|ke NederIandse Crickel ond (KNC)
Mr. SlevenvanHoogslralenomarmdendil idee ende The Iakislan
Ambassador's Cu vas geboren. De Cu verheugl zich in een
sleeds verder loenemende beIangsleIIing en |aarIi|ks vordl er
onder grole beIangsleIIing om geslreden.
De huidige ambassadeur vanIakislaninNederIand Mr H.I. Aizaz
Ahmad Chaudhry heefl afgeI oen | aren mel grole
voorlvarendheid deze beIangri|ke crickel onlmoeling in
samenverking mel de KNC voorlgezel. Zi|n ersoonIi|ke
beIangsleIIing voor hel evenemenl en zi|n bereidheid lol hel mee-
organiseren van hel evenemenl heefl de KNC sleeds
builengevoon gevaardeerd. Sleeds meer mensen raken
belrokken bi| hel evenemenl en gezegd kan vorden dal hel een
sieraad is voor de vi|ze vaaro de gemeenscha hier samenverkl.
21
Imressions
Crickel bindl, maar dal niel aIIeen. Door hel organiseren van
sraakmakende evenemenlen en hel samenverken is er een
hechle gemeenscha die zich over en veer lhuis voeIl bi| eIkaar en
geniel.
Door de gezamenIi|ke insanningen van de Iakislaanse en
NederIandse gemeenscha, vaarbi| de sorl cenlraaI slaal, is er
een basis geIegd voor een mooie loekoml. Mi|n ersoonIi|ke dank
aanIxceIIenlie Mr H.I. Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry voor zi|nefforl en
vriendscha li|dens zi|n succesvoIIe verbIi|f in NederIand. Ik heb
mel veeI genoegenmel hem mogensamenverken.
Iakislanand lhe NelherIands, crickel friends for Iife
The Iakislani communily in lhe NelherIands en|oys greal resecl
vilhin lhe Dulch crickel vorId. If a sorl in generaI fralernizes
lhen crickel is lhe falher of aII sorls. Wilh lhe arrivaI of lhe
Iakislanis lhe Dulch crickel game has imroved and lhe
friendshi has grovn slronger. Al lhis momenl aImosl 25% of lhe
Dulch crickelers have a Iakislani background. And lherefore lhe
Iakislanis Iay a very imorlanl arl inDulchcrickel.
To ensure lhal lhe lvo cuIlures undersland eacholher fuIIy, seciaI
inilialives have been deveIoed. These inilialives did indeed Iead
lo a beller underslanding of each olher's cuIlures on and off lhe
crickel fieId. One of lhese inilialives vas slarled by Mr. M.I. Shamsi
(1939-2008) in 1987. Agame belveen lhe besl Dulch and Iakislani
Iayers each year vas his idea. The Iakislani ambassador and
chairman of lhe KoninkIi|ke NederIandse Crickel ond (KNC)
Mr. SlevenvanHoogslralenembraced lhis idea and lhe yearIy Cu
vas born. This Cu gels more ouIar each year and lhe game
receives more and more inleresl eachyear.
The currenl ambassador of Iakislaninlhe NelherIands, H.I. Aizaz
Ahmad Chaudhry, ensured over lhe asl years lhal lhis very
Imressions 22
imorlanl crickel meeling vas roIonged in con|unclion vilh lhe
KNC. His ersonaI inleresl for lhis evenl and his viIIingness lo
co-organize lhis evenl has been arecialed by lhe KNC
conslanlIy. More and more eoIe are invoIved in lhe evenl each
year and one can say lhe vay lhe communily vorks logelher lo
bring lhe evenl logelher is a reaI |eveI. Crickel bonds lvo
communilies by organizing seech making evenls, bul nol onIy
does il bond. These lvo communilies feeI very comforlabIe vilh
each olher and en|oy each olher's comany every lime lhey send
lime logelher.
Through lhe |oinl efforls of lhe Iakislani and Dulch communily,
vhereby lhe sorl Iays lhe cenlraI roIe, one has Iaid lhe
foundalion for a vonderfuI fulure. I vish lo lhank lhe IxceIIence
Mr. H.I. Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry for his efforls and friendshi
during his successfuI slay inlhe NelherIands. Il vas a greal |oy and
honour lovork vilhhim.
Marc Assc!bcrgs
Voorziller KoninkIi|ke NederIandse Crickel ond
Chairman KoninkIi|ke NederIandse Crickel ond
23
Imressions
Aizaz Ahmad Chaudry: Three Years of Greal Leadershi in The
Hague
Oc nci |cc| |ac|, nq jricn!
nc cnc |ncus ncu inc ucr|! ctcr |cgan.
Oc nci jcar inc juiurc, ncining |asis jcrctcr.
|j qcu !uc|| cn inc pasi cr inc juiurc
qcu ui|| niss inc ncncni.
Runi
2009-2012: lhree greal years of friendshi. Iriendshi belveen
Iakislan and The NelherIands, friendshi belveen Iakislan and
The Hague, friendshi belveen lhe Iak communily and lhe
Surinamese Hinduslani communily and Iasl bul nol Ieasl
friendshi belveen Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudry and
myseIf. ul il vere nol onIy lhree greal years of friendshi, bul aIso
lhree greal years of insiralion and dynamism, bonding and
bringing eoIe cIoser, lhanks lo lhe exceIIenl Ieadershi of lhe
Iakislanembassy and ils reresenlalive!
I remember meeling Ambassador Chaudry for lhe firsl lime. Il vas
in one of lhe mosques in my beaulifuI cily The Hague, aIso knovn
as lhe InlernalionaI Cily of Ieace and }uslice. eing Deuly Mayor
vilh lhe orlfoIio Cilizenshi I vas inviled lo seak al a meeling
heId in his honour aboul lhe slrenglh of diversily and lhe roIe lhe
Iak communily Iays in il. Whal slruck me mosl vas lhe ersonaI
invoIvemenl of lhis nev Ambassador vilh his communily and lhe
vay he caIIed u lhe Iakislanis lo gel inlegraled in lheir nev
environmenl. He heId a briIIianl seech of bonding and bridging
and of caring and sharing. Ior lhe firsl lime I heard a Iak officiaI
caIIing u his ovn communily lo become lrue ambassadors of
lheir ovn counlry by embracing lhe cuIluraI norms and vaIues of
lheir nev homeIand, bul aIso insisling on keeing lheir ovn
cuIluraI idenlily as a vehicIe lo gel inlegraled. I vas deIighled by
Imressions 24
his overfuI seechand a friendshi vas born.
I musl admil lhal under lhe Ieadershi of Ambassador Chaudry
many sociaI-cuIluraI aclivilies vere reshaed and organised in
eseciaIIy The Hague. I remember for examIe lhe Iakislan MeIa
organised in our Zuiderark vhere more lhan len lhousand
eoIe lurned u. A mega evenl, vhich ul lhe Iakislan
communily vilhoul hesilalion in a osilive solIighl. ul I aIso
remember lhe greal sorl evenls Iike hockey, crickel and goIf
lournamenls.
The vay lhe Iakislan Imbassy lackIed lhe nevs and informalion
on for examIe lhe fIoods in Iakislan in 2010 vere very effeclive.
The uIIelin Iayed a good roIe in lhis rocess. ul aIso
Ambassador Chaudry's inlervievs inDulchnevsaers. As a lrue
diIomal he lackIed crilicism veII by shoving his ersonaI
invoIvemenls againand again.
And nov afler lhree roduclive years Aizaz Ahmad Chaudry viII
Ieave The NelherIands and lhe Cily of Ieace and }uslice. I viII miss
his dynamic aroach, his vibrancy and his humour. He has beena
greal ambassador of Iakislan lo The NelherIands during lhe Iasl
lhree years, a greal alriol and above aII a fanlaslic ersonae
bridging differences inour communilies.
Aizaz-|i, lhanks for aII your conlribulions heIing lo shae a beller
muIlicuIluraI sociely in The NelherIands, for bringing eoIe and
cuIluraI grous logelher and for insiring lhem lo become one in
lhe same sociely and nol osilioning lhemseIves as slrangers. You
have beena greal Ieader and a lrue friend. SoIong, dosl, soIong!
Rabin 5. Ba!dcwsingh
Deuly Mayor of The Hague
25
Imressions
Imressions 26
27
Imressions
IsabeI Shav, a mounlain lrekker, vrole in her Iakislan Trekking
Guide lhal inher years of louring, aII lhe counlries she visiled vere
quile simiIar lo lhe vay she had anlicialed lhem lo be Iike, based
on vhal she had read aboul lhem and lhe discussions vilh her
friends. Il vas onIy Iakislan, hovever, vhich vas nol Iike lhal.
This counlry lurned oul lo be far more grand lhan she had
imagined and vas inhabiled by kind eoIe. Iakislan, she said,
vas Iike a veII-kel secrel.
Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry loo, during his ambassadorshi in
HoIIand, inlroduced lo lhe Dulch eoIe lhal very image of
Iakislan vhich had become bIurry and a secrel due lo some
oIilicaI and hisloricaI faclors. And vilh a sacred commilmenl he
broughl lhal image lo Iighl. He re|ecled lhe conlroversiaI lheory of
cIash of civiIizalions and roved lhal lhis vas onIy a cIash of
misunderslandings. The resenl day exlremism, re|udice, and
confIicl is a lemorary occurrence vhereas lhe genuine and
ermanenl idenlily of Iakislan is in facl born by il's hislory and
richcuIlure.
To rove lhi s i n loday' s envi ronmenl, I agued by
misunderslandings, vas nol aneasy lask.
I aIvays found Aizaz Chaudhry lo be humbIe and smiIing bul a
IillIe vorried. And lhe onIy source of his vorry vas hov and in
vhich vay can bridges of harmony, confidence, and muluaI
resecl be buiIl belveen HoIIand and Iakislan, bridges lhal couId
be slronger lhanlhe vorId famous dykes of HoIIand.
When I relurned lo HoIIand aboul fifly years afler my firsl visil, I
noliced lhis had indeed become a differenl counlry. During lhal
lime, lhere vas hardIy any Iakislani in HoIIand, vhereas nov you
are abIe lo sol lhem aImosl everyvhere. During my shorl slay in
HoIIand, I found lhal Iakislanis heId Aizaz Chaudhry in high
Imressions 28
ouIarily, |usl Iike a oslar. This is erhas because his
ersonaIily exhibils visdom, nol arrogance, soIulion, nol crilicism.
He is Iike Mahmood vho does nol mind slanding vilhAyaz in lhe
same rov vhiIe raying.
I am hay lhal Aizaz Chaudhry has ul logelher such a memoir
lhal leIIs a slory of bringing HoIIand and Iakislan cIoser. There are
erhas lhree hundred bridges on lhe canaIs of Amslerdam lhal
Iink one edge lo lhe olher. Aizaz Chaudhry loo, lhanks lo his
diIomalic skiIIs, has erecled scores of bridges of friendshi and
underslanding belveen Iakislan and HoIIand. To conslrucl lhose
bridges he has used hockey, crickel, cuisine, Iileralure, oelry, and
eseciaIIy mangoes as lhe buiIding maleriaIs.
AdisciIe lo aba Iareed resenled a gifl of scissors lo vhichaba
Iareed cIaimed lhal he vas nol amongsl lhose vho cul. 'Give me a
needIe, he said, as I am amongsl lhose vho bind.' Aizaz Chaudhry
is aIso nol amongsl lhose vho cul lies bul lhose vho bind eoIe
logelher, lhe ones vhobind Iakislanand HoIIand.
Mustansar Hussain Tarar
Aulhor
29
Imressions
PAKISTAN
MIRRORED TO
DUTCH
EYES
The NelherIands mirrored lo my eyes
The firsl imressions
When I Ianded al SchihoI airorl near Amslerdam on an earIy
sring evening of 2009 lo lake u my assignmenl as lhe
Ambassador of Iakislan lo lhe NelherIands, my knovIedge of lhe
counlry vas aImosl enlireIy based on vhal I had read aboul il in
books. The slalislics and figures had aIready imressed me. Il vas
a counlry nearIy nineleen limes smaIIer lhan Iakislan in size and
eIeven limes smaIIer in ouIalion, yel vas exorling lvenly four
limes more lhanus. }usl vhal made lhis counlry so roduclive vas
a queslion lhal Iurked in my mind, and I vanled lo figure oul vhal
Iessons couId one Iearnfrom lhe Dulch, and invhal areas ve couId
benefil from muluaI cooeralion. My |ob, I guess one couId say,
vas cul oul, evenbefore I Ianded here.
As ve drove from lhe airorl lo lhe cily of The Hague, I valched
vilh inleresl fieIds afler fieIds of fIal Iand divided by slraighl
irrigalion canaIs inlo reclanguIar farms. The Dulch have foughl
valers for cenluries. So vuInerabIe vas lhe NelherIands lo valer
lhal lhe sevenleenlh cenlury rilish referred lo il as lhal
i
indigesled vomil of lhe sea. ul lhe counlry has come a Iong vay
and reresenls a fascinaling slory of hov lhey lurned lhal
vuInerabiIily inlo oorlunily. The counlry earned ils name The
NelherIands oul of ils geograhy, lhe Iov Iying Iands as il vas
ii
knovn during lhe Sanish ruIe. NearIy lvenly six ercenl of lhe
counlry Iies beIov sea IeveI, Iarge svalhes of Iand have been
recIaimed from sea. SchihoI airorl Iies aroximaleIy four
melers beIov sea IeveI. I had read lhal lhe airorl ilseIf had once
been lhe sile of a greal sea ballIe in lhe sixleenlh cenlury. Il is nol
33
surrising, lhen, lhal some Dulch aIso Iike lo refer lo lheir counlry,
erhas oul of Iove, as a dam IillIe counlry. Yel, desile being
so exosed lo raging valers, lhe Dulch have Iearnl lo kee lheir
feel dry, as lhe Dulch somelime ul il. To converl lhis vuInerabIe
Iand vilh unrediclabIe vealher inlo an agricuIluraI and
induslriaI over house of suchgreal magnilude is cerlainIy quile a
feal.
ul lhe fabuIous valer managemenl syslem is nol lhe onIy lhing
lhal dislinguishes loday's NelherIands. There are hosls of olher
idenlilies and icons - from lyicaI Dulch narrov houses lo
vindmiIIs and dykes lo fieIds of luIis - lhal define lhis vonderfuI
counlry and allracl miIIions of visilors lo ils enchanling beauly. I
vas, of course, keen lo discover aII lhal. ul as ve drove on lhe A4
molorvay lhal sring evening, I vas lhinking more aboul lhe hosl
of mundane chores lhal Iay ahead vhich I vouId have lo vork my
vay lhrough in order lo ease lhe sellIing dovn rocess and lhen
embark onlhe more desirabIe arl of my vork.
Meeling lhe Queen
My firsl moving exerience aboul lhe Dulch, lo my Ieasanl
surrise, came during lhe resenlalion of credenliaIs ceremony. I
had imagined il lobe a rouline, rolocoI-riddenceremony, vhichil
cerlainIy vas, bul vhal dislinguished lhis ceremony from olhers
lhal I have allended vas lhe highIy rofessionaI manner in vhich
lhe Queen vas reared lo engage in conversalion vilh my vife
and I. She vas nol using any noles, il vas evidenl lhal she had read
my curricuIum vilae and lhal of my vife very carefuIIy. Having
read lhal Na|ia vas an arlisl, lhe Queen venl al Ienglh lo exIain
lhe Dulch arl scene and hov magnificenl lhis Iand of Van Gogh,
Rembrandl, and Vermeer vas. Ior a monarch, vho had received
The NelherIands mirrored lo my eyes 34
counlIess Ambassadors since she look over lhe reins in 1980,
shoving such genuine inleresl in each and every Ambassador and
his or her counlry, vas a lruIy remarkabIe dislinclion. Il furlher
reinforced my ercelion aboul lhe Dulch being lhorough aboul
anylhing and everylhing lhal lhey do. The Queen recaIIed her visil
lo IsIamabad vhen lhe cily vas being conslrucled in lhe earIy
sixlies. She aIso recaIIed fondIy our firsl Ambassador here, vhom
she caIIed egum (egum Raana Liaqal AIi Khan) vho, as is oflen
menlioned here, mainlained a cIose friendshi vilh lhe lhen
iii
Queen }uIiana (molher of Queen ealrix) . Legend has il lhal
egum Raana and Queen }uIiana used lo Iay bridge logelher. In
facl, I gol lhe round marbIe-lo bridge labIe relrieved from lhe allic
of lhe Iakislan House and had il Iaced rominenlIy in lhe ubIic
area of lhe residence.
The (charming) Hague
iv
The Hague, or Den Haag as il is caIIed here, imressed me on firsl
v
sighl. Il is a smaII lidy cily of nearIy 464000 inhabilanls, and serves
as lhe seal of lhe governmenl, even lhough Amslerdam hoIds lhe
lilIe of cailaI. There are no cilies vilh a ouIalion of over one
miIIion in lhe NelherIands, bul lhe four big cilies (Amslerdam,
Rollerdam, The Hague, and Ulrechl) can be regarded as one mega
cily--de Randslad, aIlogelher hosling a ouIalion of seven
miIIion. The Iakislan Imbassy and lhe Ambassador's Residence
are silualed in an ideaI Iocalion in The Hague, |usl oulside lhe
dovnlovn area and nol far from IaIace Noordeinde, vhere I
resenled my credenliaIs. Iakislan House is Iocaled on IIein 1813,
ad|acenl lo a roundaboul lhal is home lo a monumenl lhal marks a
eriod in Dulch hislory vhen lhe Iov counlries regained
indeendence from lhe NaoIeonic Irance. The neighborhood
35 The NelherIands mirrored lo my eyes
vas once Irince WiIIem's vaIking garden and vas Ialer converled
inlo a residenliaI dislricl during lhe nineleenlh cenlury. Large
mansions vere buiIl for lraders vho had made lheir forlune in lhe
Iasl Indies. Iakislan House is one such mansion. Na|ia and I vere
aIvays slruck by lhe high IeveI of exerlise vilh vhich lhis
marveIous slruclure had been buiIl in 1859 and lhen vas
mainlained aII aIong.
The vhoIe neighborhood of IIein 1813 is marked by hisloricaI
buiIdings. One of lhe earIiesl buiIdings in lhe cily, one lhal ve
visiled oflen, vas innenhof, lhe IarIiamenl, and arlicuIarIy
RidderzaaI, lhe haII of knighls, a 13lh cenlury buiIding (robabIy
lhe oIdesl in The Hague), vhich is sliII used for lhe Queen's annuaI
seech from lhe lhrone lo formaIIy oen lhe IarIiamenl. This
occurs on lhe lhird Tuesday of Selember, and lhe day is caIIed
Irins|esdag. The Queen vouId lraveI lo lhe IarIiamenl in a goIden
carriage lodeIiver her seechfrom lhe lhrone. I had lhe riviIege lo
allend lhree of suchannuaI ceremoniaI evenls, sealed inour formaI
nalionaI dress, lhe gracefuI shervani, inlhe excIusive corner meanl
for lhe diIomalic cors inside lhe RidderzaaI. Ad|acenl lo lhe
innenhof buiIdings, is anolher imressive, lhough Iesser knovn,
buiIding lhal I vas recommended lo visil earIy on--lhe Queen's
office, vhich vas managed by IauI ScheIIekens, vho Ialer |oined
us for Dosly Ambassador goIf lournamenl, and vhose vife
arlicialed in some cuIluraI rograms organized by Iakislani
Iadies in Iakislan House. The Queen's office vas buiIl in 1635, a
fev years before lhe end of lhe eighly years slruggIe againsl lhe
Sanish ruIe vhich cuIminaled in lhe formalion of lhe ReubIic of
lhe Uniled NelherIands, a nalion of Dulch-seaking eoIe, in
1648. I aIvays en|oyed visiling lhe innenhof and lhe ad|oining
areas, vhich couId easiIy be lermed as lhe cily's hisloricaI dislricl,
and reIished laking counlIess vaIks on lhe cobbIed slreels and
lhroughlhe shoing dislricl.
One of lhe regrels of my lime in lhe NelherIands vas lhal I did nol
make concerled efforl lo Iearn lhe Dulch Ianguage. Il is a nine
cenluries oId Ianguage soken by 20 miIIion eoIe in Iuroe,
incIuding IIanders in eIgium. The main reason I did nol ul in
efforl lo Iearn Dulch vas because lhe IngIish Ianguage vas so
videIy underslood and soken here lhal one couId feeI
comforlabIe in doing lhe day lo day lasks vilhoul having lo Iearn
any Dulch. This vas a shar conlrasl lo my slinl in, for inslance
Tehran, vhere vilhin lhe firsl lhree monlhs of my arrivaI, Na|ia
and I had loIearnIersianas lhere vas noolher vay logoaround in
comforl. ul I did exhorl aII lhose vho had made lhis counlry lheir
adoled home lo Iearn lhe Ianguage. In my very firsl ubIic
funclion, Ambassador Hockey lournamenl, I made a seech in
Dulch, from a lexl lransIaled by my secrelary Chrislina os, as a
symboIic geslure. And il sure vas arecialed, desile lhe avfuI
manner invhichI musl have ronounced Dulchvords.
The NelherIands has a highslandard of Iiving. Il Iays cIaim lo good
road and highvay nelvorks, convenienl Iand, sea and air
conneclions, and reIiabIe ubIic lransorl. Life in The Hague is
quile organized. Iverylhing is funclionaI: slreel Iighling, valer
suIy, eIeclricily, leIehone, essenliaI infraslruclure lo suorl
everyday Iife. Moreover, lhe educalionaI syslem eslabIished here is
raled as exceIIenl, even lhough il look me quile a bil of lime lo
undersland lhe difference belveen MVO, HAV, VWO or MO,
HO, Universleil. We in lhe Imbassy, hovever, couId nol make
use of DulchschooIs and for underslandabIe reasons had louse lhe
inlernalionaI schooIs in and around The Hague. Maheen, our
daughler, loo venl lo ASH (The American SchooI in The Hague),
an oulslanding high schooI. Ils name suggesls The Hague lhough
il is acluaIIy silualed inlhe neighboring cily of Wassenaar.
One arlicuIar asecl lhal imressed me vas |usl hov ouIar lhe
everyday use of lhe bicycIe vas. There vere seciaI bike lracks on
aII ma|or roads in The Hague, and indeed in aII olher cilies of lhe
counlry, vhich made cycIing aII lhe more convenienl and, I vouId
say, fun-fuII. We immedialeIy boughl some bikes, and for lhe resl
of my slay here, our chiIdren used bikes exlensiveIy lo gel around.
My lhree chiIdren, Mubeen, Sameer, and Maheen, exIored much
more of The Hague lhan eilher Na|ia or I did, |usl because of
cycIing. I vouId easiIy rale lhe bike cuIlure of lhe NelherIands as
lhe second mosl aeaIing asecl of Iife in lhe NelherIands
(credenliaIs ceremony being lhe firsl). Ivery lime I vouId ride a
bike, I fIev back in lime lo my chiIdhood days, eseciaIIy lhe lime
vhen I firsl Iearnl lo ride a bike in lhe quiel and serene
environmenl of Lahore Canlonmenl. We had a Iarge house vilh a
Iarge oen ground on ils fronl, and Ienly of lime and oorlunily
lo ride our good oId 'RaIeigh' lhal slayed vilhus for as Iong as I can
remember.
TuIi, cIogs, and muchmore
The NelherIands is famous across lhe vorId for many of ils icons:
vindmiIIs, cIogs (vooden shoes), dykes, bicycIes, cheese, and of
course luIis. During lhe hoIidays, vhenever ve venl lo Iakislan,
ve vouId invariabIy lake some luIi buIbs as our hosls Ioved lo
receive lhem. They aII Ianled lhem vilh a dislincl hoe of having
a garden of luIis, bul because of lhe vasl cIimale difference, il vas
hard for lhe Ianls losurvive excel for a shorl eriod of lime inlhe
vinlers. The NelherIands is aIso a cov counlry: fal, shiny, and
grazing covs adorn lhe Dulch Iandscae. The bIack and vhile
Iriesian dairy cov is vorId famous, Na|ia and I sav Iols of lhem
vhen ve visiled IriesIand, a rovince of beaulifuI fIal Iand vilh
Iarge grazing grounds.
TradilionaI Dulch meaI has been Iimiled lo various combinalions
of olaloes, vegelabIes and meal. Yel lhe Dulch have risen lo
become lhe second Iargesl exorler of agrifood roducls afler lhe
Uniled Slales, vhich, given lhe smaII size of lhis counlry, is lruIy
remarkabIe. Dulch cheese is loday found aII around lhe vorId. I
Iearnl lhal lhe Dulch slarled exorling cheese in lhe middIe ages,
and gained lhe nick-name cheeseheads. The key lo success, il
aears, has been a focus lovards innovalion and research in aII
rocesses, from farm lofork.
olh lradilionaI and modern vindmiIIs adorn lhe Dulch
Iandscae, scallered across lhe counlry, making a sorl of slalemenl
aboul Dulch Iove for hislory and reference for cIean energy. The
lradilionaI ones vere buiIl around lhree lofour hundred years ago.
One amazing coIIeclion of such vindmiIIs is al Kinderdi|k, a Iace
vhich I had lhe oorlunily lo visil in lhe very firsl monlh of my
arrivaI here in lhe sring of 2009, vhen I vas inviled logelher vilh
olher Ambassadors lo lhe Kinderdi|k vorId herilage sile lo mark
lhe slarl of Dulch lourisl season. Kinderdi|k is a smaII lovn near
Rollerdam and roudIy hosls nineleen vindmiIIs buiIl in lhe
eighleenlh cenlury lo rolecl lhe surrounding Iand from fIooding
by discharging exlra valer inlo lhe Lek River. The sile is a
icluresque and imressive icon of Dulch slruggIe againsl valer,
and ve visiled il so many limes, moslIy escorling our visiling
guesls.
Since lhe MiddIe Ages, lhe Dulch have buiIl dykes aIong lhe coasl
in an efforl lo lame lhe rivers vhich used lo reguIarIy bursl lheir
banks. Over lhe cenluries, lhe Dulch have engineered a comIex
syslem of dunes, dykes and olher coaslaI defenses lo guard againsl
lhe allacks of lhe sea, vhich has oflen been referred lo as lhe
lradilionaI enemy and friend of lhe NelherIands. ul lhe mosl
seclacuIar are lhe Zuiderzee ro|ecl and lhe DeIla ro|ecl, vhich
have guaranleed a high degree of surely lhal vhal haened in
1953 (fIooding of ZeeIand rovince due lo break-dovn of dikes)
vouId nol be reealed and lhe Iov Iying vuInerabIe arls of lhe
NelherIands vouId no Ionger gel inundaled by sea. Considering
vi
lhal lhe Iovesl oinl in lhe NelherIands is 6.76 melers beIov sea
IeveI, lhis highIeveI of surely againsl fIooding is a lruIy remarkabIe
feal. Afev monlhs afler my arrivaI here in 2009, I had a chance lo
drive over vhal I had onIy read aboul, lhe CIosure Dyke or
AfsIuildi|k, vhich is a 32 kiIomeler Iong dyke lhal vas buiIl lo deaI
vilh lhe unrediclabIe Zuider Sea by changing il inlo a freshvaler
Iake and lhen recIaim a huge lracl of Iand from lhe sea. I vas loId
lhal lhis slruclure is visibIe from sace.
Traders and Ireelhinkers
HoIIand comrises onIy lvo (oul of lveIve) rovinces of lhe
NelherIands Norlh and Soulh HoIIand. ul quile oflen, lhe
NelherIands is referred lo as HoIIand, erhas because il vas lhe
name lhal vas sread around lhe vorId by sevenleenlh cenlury
Dulchlraders, evenlhoughHoIIand refers lolvorovinces vilhin
lhe NelherIands. Ior Iakislanis in arlicuIar, HoIIand vas
cerlainIy a more ouIar name lhan vas lhe NelherIands,
lhanks lo lhe reulalion earned by lhe Dulch hockey leam in lhe
70's and 80's. As I sellIed dovn and began lo exIore lhe counlry, I
discovered vhal a lruIy slunning and vide-ranging Iandscae lhe
NelherIands ossessed: beaulifuI viIIages, dunes, dykes, oIders,
canaIs, beaches, Iakes and isIands aII adorned lhis smaII nalion. Ior
Iuroean slandards, il is a denseIy ouIaled counlry, vilh more
lhan 400 eoIe er square kiIomelers. ul il aIvays fascinaled me
lhal anylime I drove belveen various cilies, I hardIy ever found
anyone vorking on lhe fieIds, desile lhe facl lhal fieIds aIvays
Iooked veII-mainlained and veII-kel. Na|ia and I oflenvondered
vhen, if ever, lhese farmers vork. ul in due course I came lo
reaIize |usl hov enlerrising, innovalive, and organized lhe Dulch
vere. And lhey have beensofor cenluries. Ierhas il is arl of lheir
nalionaI syche lhal being Iaced in such vuInerabIe condilions
meanl lhal lhey musl vork harder lhan olhers lo kee u and
make rogress. HisloricaIIy, lhe Dulch have been lraders and
service roviders. ul lhey have aIso been freelhinking eoIe,
and of Iale lhey have exceIIed in innovalion, roviding ragmalic,
funclionaI, and aeslhelicaIIy slimuIaling soIulions lo induslriaI
and urbanneeds.
One of lhe firsl ilems on my lo-do Iisl vas lo visil Amslerdam and
vii
exIore lhe cailaI cily of lhe NelherIands. And Iike every nev
visilor lo Amslerdam, lhe firsl lhing ve did vas lo lake a boal lri
lo vade lhrough lhe canaIs of lhe cily. Il vas a deIighl lo see
counlIess buiIdings lhal vere cenluries oId bul sliII fuIIy
funclionaI. Whal vas mosl amazing vas lhal lhe cily vas buiIl ona
marshy svam. Ils buiIdings have been raised on foundalions
made of vooden iIes driven beIov valer IeveI. The ma|eslic Dam
aIace of 1665, vhich Na|ia and I had lhe riviIege of visiling
severaI limes during lhe diIomalic recelions hosled by Queen
ealrix, aIsoresls on13659 of suchiIes.
Dulch are assionaleIy IiberaI. Dulch oIicies on recrealionaI
drugs, roslilulion, same-sex marriage, and eulhanasia are among
lhe mosl IiberaI in lhe vorId. Il is aIso knovn for ils arl and
archileclure. The 17lh cenlury, vhen lhe Dulch ReubIic vas mosl
roserous, vas lhe age of Dulchmaslers of lhe Iikes of Rembrandl
van Ri|n, }ohannes Vermeer, and }an Slreen. The 19lh and 20lh
cenlury roduced lhe Iikes of lhe vorId famous ainlers Vincenl
van Gogh, Iiel Mondriaan and Ischer, lhe veII knovn grahic
arlisl. The NelherIands is aIso a counlry of hiIosohers. One
nolabIe name lhal is vorId famous is Irasmus, a sixleenlh cenlury
schoIar, in vhose name lhe vorId famous Irasmus Universily has
been crealed in Rollerdam. In facl, Irasmus Universily is lhe one
from vhere our son, Mubeen, gradualed vilh a Maslers in urban
Ianning in 2011 as a Huygens schoIar, a schoIarshi named afler
lhe famous Dulch scienlisl Chrisliaan Huygens (1629-1695), vho
discovered Salurn's moonTilanand invenled lhe enduIum cIock.
.lhe Dulchcrealed lhe NelherIands
In lhe summer of 2010, I had lhe oorlunily lo visil lhe ZeeIand
rovince, a shining examIe of hov veII lhe Dulch manage lheir
valers. Seeing lhe IeveI of deveIomenl, il vas evidenl lhal lhe
rovince had come a Iong vay from 1953 vhen il had suffered
exlensive fIooding due lo lhe breakdovn of severaI dykes. The
urose of my visil vas a fund raising evenl organized as arl of
our camaign lo raise funds for lhe viclims of 2010 fIoods in
Iakislan, in vhich lhe river Indus sveIIed ils banks and
submerged huge svalhes of Iakislan's cuIlivabIe Iands. The Smil
famiIy, vhovere Iiving inKarachi inlhe fiflies and sixlies and vho
had seen hov Iakislanis had generousIy raised funds for lhe
viclims of fIooding in ZeeIand back in 1953, had organized lhis
evenl. The day afler lhe evenl, our hosls, Lonne Smil and her
husband Wim, escorled Na|ia and me on a lour of ZeeIand lo see
for ourseIves hov lhe valer had been so veII managed and hov
lhe lhreal of fIooding had beenso robuslIy deaIl vilhonce for aII. A
viii
Dulch foolbaII Iegend is quoled as saying here lhal every
disadvanlage has ils advanlage. In many vays lhis adage
reresenls lhe Dulch slory. The Dulch have Iearnl lhrough
cenluries of slruggIe againsl valer hov lo lame lhe rage of lhe sea
by managing ils valers lhrough a comIex syslem of canaIs and
dykes, vhich defines lhe counlry's modern day image. Tvo 20lh
cenlury ro|ecls - Zuiderzee ro|ecl and DeIla ro|ecl - have, for
inslance, changed forever lhe loograhy and environmenl of lhe
modern day NelherIands. I oflen heard from my Dulch friends a
famous adage on hov lhe Dulch have managed lheir fIooding
robIems: God crealed lhe vorId bul lhe Dulch crealed lhe
NelherIands. One areciales lhis quolalion onIy vhen one sees
hov lhe man-made dykes have been abIe lo effecliveIy rolecl lhe
areas lhal are beIov sea IeveI from fIooding.
IoIilicaIIy loo, Dulch hislory is lhal of a conslanl slruggIe againsl
heavy odds and overcoming adversily lo emerge viclorious. In
1568, a number of rovinces revoIled againsl lhe lhen Sanish
ruIer. This revoIl, Ied by Irince WiIIiam of Orange, marked lhe
beginning of lhe eighly years var, vhichended vilha eace lrealy
in 1648 and recognized lhe Dulch ReubIic of seven uniled
rovinces. Since 1815, vhen il look indeendence from
NaoIeonic Irance, il has been a conslilulionaI monarchy, and
since 1848, a arIiamenlary democracy. Dulch governmenls since
lhe nineleenlh cenlury have aIvays consisled of a coaIilion. The
earIy years of lhe lvenly firsl cenlury have seen a oIilicaI change
vilhlhe Righl-ving inoIilics gaining anedge onlhe Lefl. NearIy
ix
29 ercenl of lhe ouIalionconsiders ilseIf lobe RomanCalhoIic,
19 ercenl roleslanl, and 41 ercenl unaffiIialed. Church
allendance is much Iover lhan lhese figures vouId reresenl as
some 70 ercenl of lhe ouIalion rareIy or never visil a house of
vorshi. The governmenl adminislers a comrehensive veIfare
syslem, eseciaIIy in lhe areas of educalion, heaIlh, emIoymenl
slimuIalion, and sociaI veIfare, lhough beginning earIy 2011, lhis
veIfare syslem shoved signs of dislress, oving rimariIy lo lhe
financiaI culs imosed by lhe governmenl lo reduce budgel
deficils.
The counlry aIso boasls a comrehensive vasle lrealmenl
infraslruclure. I Iearnl vilh amazemenl lhal more lhan 64 ercenl
of municiaI vasle vas being recycIed and lhe Iargesl orlion of
lhe remaining is converled inlo energy. OnIy a minimum residuaI
amounl ends u al a vasle dum. And evenlhal is ul losome use.
The goIf course vhere I Iayed goIf every once ina vhiIe (urgGoIf
Zoelermeer) used lo be a vasle dum of lhe residue vasle and had
roduced some unduIalion lo make lhe goIf more chaIIenging and
inleresling in lhis fIal counlry. The Dulch lake ride in lheir
assion (and research) for cIean energy and are invesling heaviIy
in reaing off-shore vind energy. The Dulch resecl for
environmenl is obvious aImosl everyvhere you go in lhe
NelherIands. Since lhe counlry is IargeIy beIov sea IeveI, and since
eoIe are veII avare of lhe exislenliaI dangers lhal lhis reaIily
brings, lhe Dulch lreal environmenl vilh seciaI resecl and
rolecl il inseIf-inleresl.
Aboal lri inlo Rollerdam orl, lhe Iargesl in Iuroe, vas aIso an
earIy underlaking lhal I scheduIed, en|oyed lhoroughIy, and lhen
reealed severaI limes by escorling my guesls. eing nol loo far
from The Hague, I had many oorlunilies lo visil Rollerdam,
vhich I found lo be differenl from olher Dulch cilies, and nol
surrisingIy so. One, il vas buiIl anev afler lhe massive
deslruclion of lhe Second WorId War, and lherefore had vider
bouIevards and beaulifuI modern buiIdings. Like many olher orl
cilies around lhe vorId, il had a kind of inlernalionaI characler and
vibe. The Rollerdam orl is highIy-aulomaled, handIing miIIions
of conlainers vilh lechnoIogicaIIy advanced cranes. Once more,
Dulch innovalion vas visibIe aII around. I eseciaIIy Iiked lhe
concel of a coIIasibIe conlainer caIIed cargo sheII, vhich is
Iighler lhan lhe lradilionaI sleeI conlainer and easy lo hauI back
inslead of anemly conlainer.
Underslanding 'geIi|kheid' a gIimse inlo
lhe Dulch cuIlure
I found lhe Dulch lo be oen and frank, and somelimes even loo
direcl and slraighlforvard. ul I did nol find lhis as a handica for
me. In facl, if anylhing, I found il lo be a more raclicaI aroach. I
vasled no one's lime nor did anyone mine. Yel al lhe same lime, for
serious business, I aIvays found lhe Dulch officiaIs readiIy
avaiIabIe. ul lhis is nol lhe be-aII, end-aII, of lhe Dulch vay. A
cIoser Iook al Dulch cuIlure indicales lhal lhe Dulch emhasize a
greal deaI on equaIily (geIi|kheid) and an aversion lo boasling,
arrogance, bragging, or relenliousness. The Dulch disIike seciaI
riviIeges, ranks or osilions. They refer modesly. They refer lo
shake hands of everyone resenl in lhe room. Dulch do nol Iike
commands or orders. Dulch are aIIergic lo hierarchy. They refer
addressing each olher vilhoul referring lo a erson's osilion or
formaI lilIe. Iven one's assislanl execls lo be asked niceIy if one
vanls lhe lask lo be done. Iurlhermore, lhere is more or Iess lolaI
equaIily of men and vomen. One is nol execled lo sland if a
voman enlers lhe room. In reslauranls, eoIe oflen share lhe biII,
a common raclice referred lo as going Dulch. Dulch Iike lo lake
olhers inlo consideralion and Iike lo be absoIuleIy cIear. Dulch
generaIIy do nol Iike lo bargain in shos. Moreover, some basic
manners incIude nol silling on lhe slreel and nol conversing
vhiIe you are cheving gum. Dulch Iove lo hoId informaI gel-
logelhers, vilh drinks and Iighl snacks, caIIed borreIs. Il is
imorlanl lo be uncluaI. eing Iale is considered rude. Dulch
generaIIy donol Iike if someone shovs u unannounced.
AII lhis sounds Iike Iols of do's and don'ls. ul I found lhal il heIs a
greal deaI if a foreigner lries lo knov a IillIe aboul lhe Dulch
cuIlure. I made anefforl earIy oninmy lenure and I am hay lhal I
did so. Il made my inleraclion vilh my Dulch conlacls Iol more
roduclive and fun-fuII.
Thal Dulch governmenls are oflen coaIilions is aIso rooled in
Dulch cuIlure. I observed lhe discussions in lhe arIiamenl lo be
very inlense (execled of any heaIlhy democracy). Dulch Iike lo
laIk exlensiveIy lo reach a comromise or consensus. The IuraIisl
aroach is second nalure lo lhe Dulch. Direclness,
slraighlforvard oinion, crilicaI observalions and endIess
discussion sessions are a kind of guiding rinciIes in lhe Dulch
vay of Iife. ul, equaIIy imorlanlIy, fIexibiIily is aIso encouraged
in reaching a consensus. In shorl, lhe Dulch vanl everyone lo be
lrealed equaI and rovided equaI oorlunily lo arliciale and
conlribule his or her 'say'. Iveryone is execled lo refrain from
shoving off veaIlh or slalus. Iveryone is execled lo be honesl
since lhe Dulch grealIy vaIue inlegrily. And no one execls
ersonaI favors for business lransaclions.
On lhe vhoIe, Dulch eoIe are oen, veIcoming of debale,
IiberaI, money-vise, environmenl conscious and sound business
ersons. Dulch have an amiabIe habil of exchanging greelings Iike
goedemorgen (good morning) or goedmiddag (good aflernoon). I
vas aIso imressed vilh lheir viIIingness lo seak foreign
Ianguages, eseciaIIy lhe IngIish, German, Irench and Sanish.
This is underslandabIe, as for a smaII lrading nalion Iike lhe
NelherIands, il vas imorlanl lohave aninlernalionaI oulIook and
be abIe lo seak lhese Ianguages. Wilh Asia rising in economic
over, lhe Ialesl lrend vas seen vilh many Dulch youngslers
heading lo China and lhe Iar-Iasl for Ianguage and business
sludies.
Selling lhe slage lo mirror Iakislan
lo Dulch eyes
Afler eslabIishing necessary conlacls and gelling essenliaI
briefings, I deveIoed a MissionSlalemenl for my leam and myseIf
in lhe Imbassy. Togelher, ve senl lhe subsequenl lhree years lo
imIemenl il. The Mission Slalemenl and lhe resoIulions lhal ve
adoled al lhe beginning of every year had lhe signalure of aII our
slaff, for I have aIvays beIieved lhal leam siril vorks beller lhan
soIofIighls and is lhe besl melhodoIogy losecure concrele resuIls.
The MissionSlalemenl of our Imbassy had sixcore ob|eclives:
SlrenglhenbiIaleraI reIalions vilhlhe NelherIands,
Winfriends for Iakislaninevery vaIk of DulchIife,
Inhance exorls from and inveslmenls inIakislan,
oIsler sofl image of Iakislan,
Serve Iakislani Diasora and mobiIize lhem for nalionaI
causes,
Iromole Iakislan's inleresls in NL-based muIliIaleraI
organizalions.
The years 2009-11 vere chaIIenging limes for Iakislan. Aslream of
bad nevs conlinued lo our in, mosl of il reIaled lo lerrorism bul
aIso reIaling lo lhe severe energy crisis, eIeclricily and gas oulages,
and delerioraling Iav and order. The IocaI ress here, vhich
moslIy re-cycIed vhal aeared in lhe US media, vouId
rominenlIy disIay lhose unveIcoming images. Il vas imorlanl
lo arresl lhis conslanl erosion of lhe good name of Iakislan. I am
convinced lhal aII nalions go lhrough a cycIe of cresls and lroughs,
going dovnlemorariIy, bul vilhossibiIily lo rise back u. These
48
vere cerlainIy hard limes for Iakislan, bul for a hosl of
underslandabIe reasons I vas convinced lhal aII lhis vouId
change. Ior examIe, in lhe sixlies, Iakislan vas a rising slar. We
vere a roIe modeI for deveIomenl. Today, hovever, ve are in a
Iean alch, suffering from lhe lerribIe menace of inlernalionaI
lerrorism. ul lhere is no reason nol lo hoe for, desire, or execl a
beller fulure for our eoIe and our counlry. The onIy condilion is
lhal each and every one of us musl relain failh in lhe abiIily of our
eoIe lo change course. We musl mainlain confidence in
ourseIves. We musl nol desair. And lo lhal end, ve musl
conlribule by Iighling a candIe and lhus heI lear avay lhe
darkness. I vas arlicuIarIy moved by lhis verse from Ahmad
Iaraz: shikva'e zuImale shub se lo kahein behler lhha, ane hisse
ke ek shama |aIale |aale, a rough lransIalion of an oId Chinese
roverb (lhough il is aIso allribuled lo many olhers) il is beller lo
Iighl acandIe lhanlocurse lhe darkness.
AccordingIy, vhiIe ve vere lo vork in earnesl on aII six eIemenls
of lhe MissionSlalemenl, I decided lo riorilize lhe fourlhbuIIel of
our Mission Slalemenl, nameIy oIslering lhe sofl image of
Iakislan. I vas confidenl lhal lhis riorily vas fuIIy consislenl
vilhlhe riorilies sel by our governmenl. The governmenl vanled
lo ugrade ils reIalions vilh lhe Iuroean counlries, urged us lo
focus on imroving lhe sofl image of Iakislan, and had aIso asked
us lo serve lhe Iakislani communily and mobiIize lheir energies
for lhe bellermenl of our counlry. Above aII, our Quaid-e-Azam,
lhe founder of Iakislan, had direcled us, in his vords, lo serve
x
vilh honour, inlegrily, |uslice and fair-Iay . So, vilh lhe
conviclion lhal lhis vas lhe righl lhing lo do under lhese difficuIl
circumslances, and boIslered by lhe confidence lhal lhis aroach
vas fuIIy comalibIe vilh lhe riorilies of lhe counlry lhal I vas
reresenling here, I decided lo surge ahead vilh my mission,
49
Iaying seciaI emhasis onromoling lhe sofl image of Iakislan.
Image buiIding as a vhoIe requires erseverance and alience. Il
enlaiIs changing slereolyicaI ercelions, vhich are al limes
radicaIIy differenl from acluaI reaIily. And il enlaiIs remaining
consislenl in radialing a osilive message. If ve relain a bad ubIic
image, ve couId do len good lhings, bul il vouId lake |usl one bad
evenl lhal couId require us lo slarl aII over again. ul lhen again,
lhe reverse is equaIIy lrue. If ve are abIe lo firsl deveIo and lhen
suslain a good image, il couId vilhsland many a bad nevs. The
Iogic, in our mission, vas simIe bul ersuasive. If ve couId heI
creale an environmenl such lhal lhe name of Iakislan is idenlified
as a osilive resence in lhe NelherIands, lhe Dulch lraders, vho
are knovn for laking risks in business, and Dulch inveslors, vho
have laken lhe Dulch fIag lo Iaces far and vide, vouId nol gel
discouraged from going lo lhe inveslmenl-friendIy Iakislan. ul if
ve faiIed locuIlivale a osilive image, lhenlhe negalive ercelion
of Iakislan being crealed by lhe nevs cycIe vouId gain ground,
fosler a slereolyicaI negalive image of Iakislan, and may even
Iead lo inveslors aIready resenl in Iakislan lo begin relhinking
lheir decision lo do business in Iakislan. Members of lhe Dulch
governmenl, arIiamenlarians, dignilaries in infIuenliaI circIes,
and eoIe al Iarge, onIy beIieve vhal lhey see. Soif ve couId shov
lhem lhe osilive asecls of Iakislanrighl here inlhe NelherIands,
lhey vouId lend lo beIieve in vhal lhey sav for lhemseIves, and
nol vhal lhey may have heard or seen on TVscreens or read in lhe
nevsaers.
AII lhis required a comrehensive and suslained image buiIding
endeavor, one vhich covered aII seclors. The vision vas cIear.
Whal ve needed vas an aclion Ian and a leam lhal vouId heI
imIemenl il. I quickIy devised a Ian, aIbeil a simIe one, lhal
50
comrised of sorls diIomacy, cuIluraI oulreach, commerciaI
engagemenl, and some inilialives lo romole beller
underslanding belveen lhe lvo governmenls. The Imbassy
officers and officiaIs vorked as an efficienl leam. I vas forlunale lo
have conscienlious officers Iike my deuly ConseIIor Aamir
Shaukal, CommerciaI ConseIIor Ashraf, Iirsl Secrelary Tariq
Karim, and Second Secrelary Alif Sharif. OurAccoulanl Imran, one
of lhe mosl efficienl, roaclive, and crealive officiaI I have ever
served vilh in my career, and slenograher Nazar, vho vas ever-
ready lo ul in Iong hours for any good cause, loo vere a greal
heI. Iakislani communily in lhe NelherIands, a highIy alriolic
Iol, lurned oul lo be my biggesl resource in accomIishing lhis.
They lruIy served as a bridge belveen lhe lvo counlries, and
logelher, ve embarked onour missionrighl inlhe firsl fev monlhs
of my arrivaI in earIy 2009, and deveIoed a arlnershi lhal
conlinued liII lhe end of my lerm. The accumuIalive effecl of lhis
vas highIy encouraging. Throughoul my slay, I used lo receive
osilive feedback from aII vaIks of Dulch oIily and governmenl
circIes, confirming lo me lhal Iakislani cuIlure and Iakislani
communily here vas being regarded as a osilive resence in lhe
NelherIands and lhe lvo nalions couId vork logelher for muluaI
benefil.
51
Ior my mission lo succeed, I had lo ensure lhal my riorilies vere
in lhe righl order. The firsl oinl of conlacl for any diIomal is lhe
hosl Minislry of Ioreign Affairs, foIIoved by olher concerned
governmenl dearlmenls, arIiamenlarians, movers and shakers,
and oinion making inslilulions. I reared a Iisl, vilh lhe heI of
my secrelary Chrislina os, an efficienl and conscienlious erson,
vho had been serving in lhe Imbassy since 1978 and had
deveIoed exceIIenl conlacls over lhe years. Afler my firsl round of
meelings inlhe IoreignMinislry, il became quile evidenl lhal lhere
vas sufficienl inleresl onlhe arl of lhe DulchofficiaIs lodeveIo a
more robusl and durabIe reIalionshi vilh Iakislan. The lhen-
Direclor GeneraI for IoIilicaI Affairs, Iieler de Gooi|er, vas a
diIomal of sound inleIIecl and ercelive mind, and aIvays kel
lhe bigger iclure inviev. I quickIy deveIoed a raorl vilhhim.
NeiIs Vennis, lhe desk officer for Iakislan, vho had aIso served in
IsIamabad, vas aIvays highIy forlhcoming and roved lo be a
lremendous suorl. I vas hay lo see lhal aIlhough Iakislan
vas exeriencing chaIIenging limes due lo lhe so-caIIed var on
lerror, vhich meanl lhal il vas gelling difficuIl lo suslain IeveIs of
biIaleraI lrade, lhe DulchofficiaIs vere neverlheIess ready lolake a
Iong lerm viev of deveIoing reIalions vilh Iakislan. They fuIIy
underslood lhal Iakislan vas a counlry of 170 miIIion vilh
abundanl resources, and couId be a usefuI lrading arlner and an
imorlanl markel in due course. The Dulch are knovn for lheir
assion for inlernalionaI lrade and lhis vas a naluraI Iine of
lhoughl for lhem.
The governmenls Iike lo have a framevork vilhin vhich lhey
vork lo deveIo and fosler muluaIIy beneficiaI reIalionshis.
52
UnIike vilh many olher counlries, Iakislan did nol have
inslilulionaIized annuaI consuIlalions vilh lhe NelherIands. In
2006, an MOU had been signed lo slarl consuIlalions, bul lhe
inilialive had nol been foIIoved lhrough. I slarled vorking vilh
lhe Dulch officiaIs on lhe rosecl of slarling inslilulionaIized
annuaI consuIlalions. We senl lhe year 2009 lo gel necessary
arovaIs, agree on a formal and IeveI of consuIlalions, vork oul
an agenda for laIks, and evenluaIIy succeeded in hoIding lhe firsl
biIaleraI consuIlalions in The Hague on 01 }uIy 2010. The
consuIlalions heIed us undersland each olher's erseclive. A
number of ideas emerged for furlher foIIov u loromole biIaleraI
reIalionshi. A|oinl slalemenl issued al lhe end of lhe firsl round
affirmed lhal deeening lhe reIalionshi belveen lhe
NelherIands and Iakislan vas a diIomalic riorily for bolh
counlries. The foIIoving year, in 2011, ve heId lhe nexl round in
IsIamabad on 19 Oclober 2011, in vhich bolh sides exressed
salisfaclion lhal lhe rocess of inslilulionaIized annuaI
consuIlalions vas conlribuling lo a beller underslanding of each
olher's erseclive and vas making rogress in deeening lhe
arlnershi belveenlhe NelherIands and Iakislan.
I vas very Ieased lhal lhe seed Ianled vas nov shaing u as a
veII rooled Ianl. Nol onIy vas lhe inslilulionaIized consuIlalions
belveen lhe lvo governmenls enabIing lhe lvo sides lo beller
undersland each olher's erseclive, bul erhas more
imorlanlIy, lhis cIose engagemenl of lhe lvo governmenls vas
sending oul a cIear signaI lo lhe resl of lhe vorId lhal lhe
NelherIands vas cognizanl of lhe imorlance of Iakislan and vas
genuineIy inleresled in deveIoing ils reIalionshi vilh lhe
Iakislanis. The olics in lhis case, arlicuIarIy given lhe
chaIIenging limes in Iakislan, vas as imorlanl as lhe subslance
ilseIf. This aIso filled inveII vilhmy missionof romoling lhe sofl
53
image of Iakislan in every vaIk of Dulch Iife. Anolher eIemenl of
salisfaclion vas lhal lhe formal had been exanded, al Dulch
suggeslion, lo incIude lhe Iakislan-eneIux consuIlalions
aIongside lhe biIaleraI lrack. DeIegalions of Iakislan and lhe
eneIux counlries (eIgium, Luxembourg, and The NelherIands)
heId lheir firsl ever consuIlalions in IsIamabad in Oclober 2011,
and decided lo conlinue consuIlalions on a reguIar basis lo
romole cooeralionand underslanding.
The years 2009 lo 2011 vilnessed lhe rise in lhe Dulch oIilics of a
oIilicaI arly, vhose Ieader frequenlIy induIged in anli-IsIam,
anli-immigranl rheloric. He even had lo face a courl case in lhis
conlexl. The murder in 2008 of lhe direclor of movie Iilna, vhich
bIashemed lhe HoIy Quran, had aIready generaled signs of
radicaIizalion in lhe NelherIands. I vas concerned lhal lhe
inilialives of lhal arly's Ieader lo Ian yel anolher bIashemous
movie on lhe Quran as a sequeI lo lhe firsl Iilna movie, or his
announcemenl lo hoId a ubIic debale on lhe reaI nalure of
Irohel Mohammad (eace be uon him), couId ose serious
difficuIlies for lhe harmonious Iife of MusIim immigranls
incIuding Iakislanis Iiving inlhe NelherIands and aIsofor my ovn
mission here. Al lhe biIaleraI IeveI, ve vere obviousIy concerned
lhal suchrovocalions couId easiIy incile reaclionvilhinIakislan,
as lhe eoIe of Iakislan vere highIy allached lo IsIam and heId in
greal reverence lhe Irohel Mohammad (eace be uon him). The
Iakislani Dulch communily here vas aIso gelling concerned al
lhese ersislenl allacks onlheir failh.
To deaI vilh lhis difficuIl silualion, ve aroached lhe Dulch
governmenl biIaleraIIy, urging il lo lake sles lo check any
bIashemous rovocalions or aclions of incilemenl. Al lhe IeveI of
lhe OIC (Organizalion of IsIamic Conference), of vhich I vas
54
lemorariIy made a coordinalor, ve decided lo ignore lhe
rovocalive rheloric and inslead urge, lhrough biIaleraI channeIs,
lhe Dulch governmenl lo address lhese rovocalions and
incilemenl lo halred. Al lhe communily IeveI, ve conlinued vilh
lhe series of cuIluraI, sorls, Iilerary and olher heaIlhy aclivilies
lhal kel our communily, eseciaIIy lhe youlh, conslrucliveIy
engaged, and heIed lhem in avoiding lhe lra of gelling
rovoked by lhis undesirabIe conlroversy. The aroach vorked.
We nol onIy managed lo safeguard lhe inleresls of our communily
here, bul aIso heIed reserve lhe good name of IsIam by nol
engaging in any iII-inlenlioned debale. This aroach aIso
conlribuled lo mainlaining lhe good image and name of Iakislan
during a chaIIenging lime for lhe Dulch sociely, vhich for decades
had lakenride inbeing oenand veIcoming loimmigranls.
The Hague is aIso lhe seal of a number of imorlanl inlernalionaI
organizalions, incIuding InlernalionaI Courl of }uslice,
InlernalionaI CriminaI Courl, UN lribunaIs, and Organizalion for
lhe Irohibilion of ChemicaI Weaons. The Ialler vas lhe mosl
aclive and required our day lo day engagemenl. We mainlained a
good rofiIe in lhese organizalions, ro|ecling ourseIves as an
aclive bul conslruclive and osilive deIegalion. Al lhe
Organizalion for lhe Irohibilion of ChemicaI Weaons, Iakislan
vas consislenlIy re-eIecled lo lhe Ixeculive CounciI, served as
coordinalor for Asia grou, and eIecled as vice chairman of
Conference of Slales Iarlies. The Iermanenl Courl of Arbilralion
vas serving as lhe venue for arbilralion on an imorlanl valer
disule case in Kashmir. This is nol lhe Iace lo go inlo delaiIs of
lhose aclivilies. Suffice is lo say lhal our osilive rofiIe in lhese
organizalions loo heIed us mainlain our good image in lhe
NelherIands.
55
Carriage-ride on a rainy morning, credenliaIs ceremony,
and conversalion vilh Queen ealrix vas a moving exerience
The four Dulch icons vhere ve escorled nearIy aII of our guesls:
Dam square in cenlraI Amslerdam, ZidderzaaI, lhe oIdesl
buiIding in lhe Hague, Keukenhof, lhe vorId famous garden of
luIis and fragranl hyacinlhus, and Kinderdi|k, home lo lhe
oIdesl vindmiIIs in lhe NelherIands
Vievs of The Hague from
lhe brushes
of Na|ia Aizaz Ahmad
DOSTY (or friendshi) lournamenls became a ouIar brand
name for our sorls diIomacy
ookIels ubIished for each of lhe annuaI hockey, crickel and
goIf lournamenls incIuded messages of Dulch dignilaries and
heIed sread lhe message of friendshi far and vide
Oening buIIy of lhe hockey lournamenls vas aIvays an
imorlanl fealure of lhe evenls: Aulhor vilh Ambassador Tom
de ruin and MI Hans HiIIen (Ialer Defense Minisler) in 2009,
Secrelary GeneraI of Ioreign Minislry Kronenburg in 2010, and
SG Kronenburg, MI arl de Liefde, and Ambassador
de ruin in 2011
Iakislan communily von lhe cu in 2009, Dulch Ioreign
Minislry in 2010, and Dulch IarIiamenl in 2011,
a coincidenlaI equily
Iach of lhe hockey and crickel lournamenls concIuded vilh
grou holos
We vere Iucky lo receive lhe consislenl and enlhusiaslic suorl
of Iresidenl of KNC (Dulch crickel board), Marc AsseIbergs,
vho aIvays |oined me for loss and lhe firsl over
Ior lhe firsl lime in lournamenl's hislory since 1987, lhe malch
ended in a lie in 2011 (bolh calains receiving lhe coveled rize).
IarIier in 2010 and 2009, Iakislan communily leam
von lhe lournamenls
Aulhor resenling Imbassy shieId lo Mr AsseIbergs and receiving
a shirl signed by Dulch nalionaI leam from RoIand Lefebvre
The scenic and Iush-green Voorburg Crickel cIub
hosled our lournamenls
The firsl ever Dosly goIf lournamenl vas heId in Rollerdam in
Selember 2010, co-sonsored by IIAand olhers. Laler
lournamenls vere heId in olher cilies
Secrelary GeneraI Kronenburg lee-ing off al lhe second Dosly
goIf lournamenl in Zoelermeer in Selember 2011
The firsl fIighl: Secrelary GeneraI Kronenburg, vho vas aIso lhe
chief guesl, Direclor GeneraI Rob SvarlboI from Dulch Ioreign
Minislry, Ambassador Koezuka of }aan vho aIso von lhe
lournamenl, and lhe aulhor
Sorls diIomacy
AImosl everyone Ioves sorls, or lo ul il in anolher vay, no one
denies lhe Iasling bonds of friendshi lhal sorls can creale. I vas
lhriIIed lo see a ready-made olenl avenue aIready avaiIabIe in lhe
form of a Iong slanding lradilion of Iakislan Ambassador hockey
and crickel lournamenls in The Hague lhal for years had
conlribuled lovards ro|ecling lhe good image of Iakislan in lhe
NelherIands. ul my enlhusiasm vas somevhal damened vhen
I found lhal lhis gIorious lradilion vas under a serious risk of
fading avay, for lhe reasons I viII discuss beIov. GIadIy, vilhsome
efforl and some good Iuck, ve nol onIy managed lo revive and
suslain lhese lvo lournamenls bul gaIvanized lhe lradilion by
adding a lhird arm lo il, Iakislan Ambassador goIf lournamenl.
And ve slringed lhem aII inlo lhe brand name of Dosly or
friendshi. I am gIad lhal my failh in sorls being one of lhe mosl
effeclive vays of bringing eoIe logelher nol onIy remained
inlacl bul vas reinforced lhrough lhe highIy enlerlaining and
salisfying exerience of sorls diIomacy from 2009 lo 2011. Lel
me leII you hov.
Hockey-ing a gIorious lradilion
The Hague has been hosl lo a Iongslanding lradilion of annuaI
hockey lournamenls vhich venl by lhe name of Iakislan
Ambassador Hockey Tournamenl. This lournamenl had been
slarled in 1988 by lhe lhen Ambassador Shafqal Shaikh and a
Iakislani-Dulch, Mr. Iasih Shamsi, vho had come lo lhe
NelherIands in 1961. The lournamenl became an annuaI lradilion
lhal conlinued ever since. This enlaiIed a yearIy conlesl belveen
69
lhe leams of Dulch IarIiamenl, Dulch Ioreign Minislry and
Iakislani communily. UnforlunaleIy lhe coordinalor of lhis
lournamenl for aII lhese years, Mr. Iasih Shamsi, had died a year
before I arrived and lhe evenl had nol been heId lhal year (2008).
There vas a risk lhal lhis lradilionmighl simIy fade avay. I found
IillIe record in lhe Imbassy lo guide me on hov lo organize lhe
lournamenl. Some informalioncame inhandy from a CDrovided
by Mrs. Aliya Shamsi, a DulchIady of good grace and commilmenl
lo Iakislan. ul vhal made il more comIicaled vas lhal a number
of ersons from lhe communily aroached me lo cIaim lhal aII
lhose years lhey had heIed organize lhe lournamenls and shouId
be given lhe charge lo do so from nov on. Mrs. Shamsi feIl
overvheImed by lhese cIaims and underslandabIy decided nol lo
gel invoIved.
Many Dulch lhal I mel vouId remember Iakislan for ils roIific
hockey Iayers. The oIder generalion couId even recaII lhe names
of lhe slaIvarls of Iakislan hockey. I vas lherefore convinced lhal
lhe lradilion of Ambassador hockey lournamenl musl conlinue.
The onIy queslion lhal remained vas hov. The lime, loo, vas shorl
as I had arrived onIy al end of Iebruary and lhe lournamenl had lo
be heId by lhe end of }une, |usl before lhe IarIiamenl venl inlo
recess. Il vas nol cIear as lo vhom lo aroach lo ul logelher lhe
leams of lhe IoreignMinislry and lhe IarIiamenl. WilhheI from a
hurriedIy assembIed leam, ve managed lo lie aII ends and venl
ahead vilh lhe 21sl Ambassador hockey lournamenl in }une 2009.
The names of lhe IarIiamenl leam came in lovards lhe very end,
crealing considerabIe susense for us, bul in lhe end il aII feII in
Iace. The ambience of lhe lournamenl vas suerb - green, orange
and bIue shirls adorning aslro lurf in lhe Iush green
KIeinzvislerIand. In lhe rize dislribulion, I decided lo seak in
DulchIanguage (from a vrillenlexl reared vilhChrislina's heI
and duIy rehearsed). Though obviousIy my Dulch accenl vas
Sorls diIomacy
70
OnIy lhe 2009 hockey lournamenl enlaiIed some organizalionaI
issues. Ior lhe 2010 lournamenl onvards, lhe Imbassy look fuII
charge of lhe lradilion, deveIoed cIose conlacls vilh lhe calains
of lhe Dulch arIiamenl and Ioreign Minislry leams, vilh vhom
meelings vere organized earIy on in lhe year vilh lhe aim of
idenlifying dales, selling u leams, and Iocking in olher
arrangemenls. We broughl oul veII designed brochures vhich
adverlised lhe evenl and incIuded messages from lhe Iresidenl of
lhe Dulch arIiamenl and lhe Dulch Ioreign Minisler.
SignificanlIy, in2010 lhe DulchIarIiamenl vas abIe lo fieId a leam
in very quick lime, so soon afler lhe eIeclions (eIeclions vere heId
in Iebruary 2010), Ied as before, by MI Slef Iok. Anolher
dislinguishing fealure vas lhal in 2010, aII lhree leams incIuded
vomen Iayers for lhe firsl lime. Mahnoor became lhe firsl ever
IieId hockey is deeIy rooled in lhe sorls hislory of bolh
Iakislan and NelherIands.. Ambassador Hockey Trohy
serves as a erfecl examIe loemhasize lhal facl
'
Gcrdi Vcrbcct, Prcsidcnt nI Twcdc Kamcr - Junc 2011

oor, bul lhe efforl ilseIf slruck a cordiaI chord vilh lhe Dulch
communily.
. such lradilions slrenglhen lhe bond belveen lhe Iakislani
communily and lhe Dulch.
'
Fnrcign Ministcr Vcrhagcn - Junc 2009

The lournamenl is nov in ils 23rd year - fine examIe of hov
sorls brings eoIe logelher...
'
Fnrcign Ministcr Rnscntha! - Junc 2011

71
Sorls diIomacy
Iakislani girI lo |oin lhe Iakislani communily leam. In 2011,
anolher girI |oined lhe Iakislani communily leam, vhiIe lhe
IarIiamenl leam had lhe besl gender baIance.
The 23rd Ambassador lrohy in2011 lurned oul lobe significanl in
yel anolher vay. RefIecling lhe siril of friendshi lhal
characlerizes lhis lournamenl, ve added lhe vord DOSTY (i.e.
friendshi) lo lhe name of lhe lournamenl. Moreover, lhe
Secrelary-GeneraI of lhe Ioreign Minislry, Id Kronenburg, and I
bolh Iayed as members of our reseclive leams. Here I musl
admil lhal Mr. Kronenburg imressed me vilh his lechnique and
slamina as he Iayed lhroughoul. Il vas nol surrising because
everyone knev lhal he vas a greal sorlsman, roIific in aImosl aII
lhal he dabbIed in. As for me, I had Iayed in lhe righl-back
osilion during my coIIege days, bul had Iosl louch, and couId
Iay onIy for a Iimiled lime, bareIy hilling lhe baII a couIe of
limes, fearing for my shin as I vas nol vearing lhe shin guard. ul
neverlheIess I vas hay lhal I Iayed, vhich robabIy had ils
ovn symboIic vaIue. Anolher dislinguishing fealure of lhe
lournamenl in2011 vas lhal lhe DulchIarIiamenl leam vas Ied by
a young arIiamenlarian by lhe name of arl de Liefde vho ul
logelher an oulslanding leam lhal Iefl everyone behind, and Iifled
lhe lrohy. arl is a dynamic young arIiamenlarian, veII oised
lo achieve rofessionaI exceIIence. InlereslingIy, lhe lournamenl in
2009 vas von by Iakislan communily leam, in 2010 by Ioreign
Minislry leam and in 2011 by Dulch arIiamenl leam. I vas hay
al lhese resuIls as lhe lasle of viclory kel lhe inleresl aIive of
everyone invoIved inlhe lournamenl.
Wilh heI from our Imbassy's Second Secrelary, Alif Sharif, and
Mrs. Aliya Shamsi, ve reconslrucled lhe oId record of lhis
lournamenl (a ainslaking bul roduclive underlaking), and gol
Sorls diIomacy
72
lhe names of lhe vinning leams since lhe firsl lournamenl in 1988
inscribed on lhe rolaling lrohy. And il vas a greal Ieasure lo see
lhe lrohy silling ma|eslicaIIy in lhe innenhof (Dulch
arIiamenl), lhe vinner of 2011 lournamenl. No olher Imbassy in
The Hague had lhe honour of organizing such a lournamenl for
such a Iong eriod of lime. I mel so many senior Dulch
ersonaIilies vho had, al one lime or lhe olher, arlicialed in lhis
lournamenl during lhe course of 23 years. This incIuded eoIe
Iike Ruud Lubbers, lhe former Dulch rime minisler, vhom I mel
in a ceremony lo give avay freedom avards, }aa de Hoe
Schaffer, lhe former Dulch foreign minisler, and lhe NATO
secrelary generaI, and many olhers.
I musl acknovIedge here lhe lremendous suorl ve aIvays
received from Ambassador Tom de ruin, vho had calained lhe
firsl Ioreign Minislry leam in 1988 and had Iayed aImosl ever
since, }erone Guller, an affabIe man vilh a cheerfuI smiIe, and vho
calained lhe resenl Ioreign Minislry leam, Slef Iok and arl de
Liefde, arIiamenlarians from lhe LiberaI Iarly vho calained lhe
Dulch arIiamenl leam, Shahzadi Shamsi, lhe daughler in Iav of
Lale Mr. Shamsi, vho had oulslanding organizalionaI skiIIs, Tahir
Shah Iqrar, vho had served as lhe calain of lhe firsl Iakislan
communily leam back in 1988 and vas nov lhe manager of lhe
leam, and Tahir Syed, lhe calain of lhe resenl communily leam.
Many sonsors came forvard loheI lhe Imbassy organize a good
shov, eseciaIIy lhe organizalions of Iakislan InlernalionaI
AirIines, Habib ank Limiled, Suerloko, RoyaIlexlieI, Lasani
reslauranl, SohaiI cosmelics, and olhers. A dinner al Iakislan
House foIIoved every lournamenl and ro|ecled our vaIues of
hosilaIily and deIicious Iakislani cuisine, and rovided us vilh
an oorlunily lo ceIebrale lhe enduring fralernily belveen
Iakislani communily and Dulch eIile from lhe IarIiamenl and
73
Sorls diIomacy
IoreignMinislry.
Crickel-ing a Iasling bond
The NelherIands is nol veII knovnfor ils crickel. In2010, hovever,
lhe Dulch calauIled lhemseIves lovards lhe IimeIighl in lhe
vorId of crickel vhen il beal IngIand in a lvenly-lvenly malch.
The game does have ils foIIovers in lhe counlry, and I vas
surrised lo Iearn lhal lhere vere over eighly crickel cIubs in lhe
NelherIands. In facl, a number of Dulch youngslers of Iakislani
origin had made lhe squad of lhe Dulch nalionaI leam. SimiIar lo
lhe hockey lournamenl, lhe IakislanAmbassador Crickel cu had
been Iayed belveen lhe communily and Dulch crickel board
since 1987 (a year earIier lhan hockey lournamenl). Iighleen such
lournamenls had been heId. Il vas onIy IogicaI lo conlinue lhis
lradilion vhich couId serve as yel anolher avenue lo ro|ecl lhe
osilive name of Iakislan and bring Iakislanis and Dulch
communilies cIoser. Incouraged by lhe success of lhe hockey
lournamenl in}une 2009, ve succeeded inreviving lhis lradilionas
veII by organizing in Augusl 2009 lhe 19lh Iakislan Ambassador
Crickel Cu, vhich had seen a ga in lhe revious lvo years. The
Iush green and scenic VCC ground vas hosl lo lhe lhriIIing malch
belveen lhe Iakislan Communily XI and lhe KNC XI (Dulch
Crickel oard), vhichvas vonby lhe IakislanCommunily XI by 7
runs inanexciling finish.
Comared lo lhe 2009 lournamenl, organizing lhe 20lhcu in2010
and 21sl cu in 2011 vas a breeze. We received fuII suorl from
Dulch crickel board (KNC), vhich agreed lo share some of lhe
cosls for lhe 2010 lournamenl and lhen icked u an even Iarger
share of cosls for lhe 21sl cu In 2011 incIuding lhe rinling of
brochures. Wilh each cu, ve lried lo embeIIish lhe lradilion by
Sorls diIomacy
74
gaIvanizing ils fuII gIory. AIakislani gaIa dinner al IakislanHouse
foIIoved each cu. Seeing ils groving imorlance as anolher
ossibIe nursery for nelling laIenled youlh from Iakislani
communily, in 2011 KNC sared a veekend (Salurday) ralher
lhan veekdays for lhe lournamenl, an excelionaI geslure by
KNC. The slandard of crickel disIayed conlinued lo rise as lhe
Dulch nalionaI leam's calain Ied his side, vhiIe anolher Dulch
slar aII-rounder of Iakislani origin, Mudassar ukhari, Ied lhe
Iakislanside.
Since lhe crickel lournamenl vas essenliaIIy inlended lo romole
goodviII, underslanding and friendshi belveen eoIe of lhe
NelherIands and Iakislani Diasora in lhe NelherIands, ve
broughl il aIso under lhe rubric of DOSTY (friendshi), Iike lhe
hockey lournamenl. InlereslingIy, in 2011, for lhe firsl lime in lhe
hislory of lhis lournamenl, lhe malch ended in a lie. The revivaI
and suslenance of lhis vonderfuI lradilion is oved lo singuIar
cooeralionreceived from lhe DulchCrickel oard, and eseciaIIy
ils Iresidenl, Marc AsseIbergs, a suave and amicabIe ersonaIily,
and vhovas aIvays very cooeralive and forlhcoming. Onlhe eve
of lhe 2011 lournamenl, Mr. AsseIbergs resenled lo me an
imressive KNC lie (crovn das), vhich bore an embIem of lhe
royaI crovn marking lhe year 1883 (lhe year KNC vas
eslabIished). I vas loId lhal lhis vas a very seciaI gifl, given in
recognilion of excelionaI services for romoling crickel in lhe
NelherIands. I vas indeed humbIed by lhis vaIuabIe gifl, vhich is
nov my roud assel. I musl aIso acknovIedge lhe inslrumenlaI
roIe Iayed by Ahmad ZuIfiqar, a dynamic erson bIessed vilh
infinile energy, and vho had calained lhe Iakislan side since lhe
firsl cu unliI 21sl cu in 2009, and vas manager of lhe leam since
lhen, RoIand Lefebvre of lhe Dulch crickel board, vho vouId ul
everylhing logelher vilh greal finesse, and Abid Ghaznavi, a
75
Sorls diIomacy
assionale crickeler and co-organizer of lhe lournamenl. A Iarge
number of sonsors from lhe communily came forvard lo suorl
our efforls, incIuding lhe organizalions of Iakislan InlernalionaI
AirIines, Habib ank, Suerloko, Lasani reslauranl, MoguI
reslauranl, LocaI oyz, RoyaI TexlieI, and ari Mode, lo aII of
vhom I aIvays oved seciaI lhanks.
GoIf-ing enduring friendshis
In2010, ve added a lhird arm loour sorls diIomacy, a lhird earI
in lhe DOSTYslring. Wilh lhe heI of a assionale goIfer, Agha AIi
Raza, lhe firsl-ever Iakislan Ambassador GoIf Tournamenl and
CIinic vas organized al a goIf cIub in Rollerdam. Again, Iike
hockey and crickel, lhis vas a arl of lhe vision lo slrenglhen lhe
sofl image of Iakislan and lo romole muluaI underslanding
lhrough sorls. The difficuIly vas lhal I vas nol a goIfer myseIf. I
had had a goIf kil vilh me for years nov bul couId never gel
allracled lo lhe game desile urgings by my good friends Tariq
aIoch and Alhar ukhari. Tvo monlhs before lhe lournamenl, I
look some goIf Iessons and slarled Iaying, and soon il became
evidenl hov unvise il had been for me lo have ignored lhis game
for aII lhese years. I sleed onlo a fasl Iearning curve, and soon
found myseIf a roud ossessor of vhal is caIIed GV, a
ermission lo Iay goIf given afler vrillen and raclicaI lesls. On
30 Selember 2010, vhen ve assembIed for lhe lournamenl, I vas
sliII digging more ground lhan Iobbing goIf baII in lhe inlended
direclion. The Greek Ambassador vilh vhom I Ialer slarled
Iaying reguIarIy vouId oflen caulion me lhal lhis game couId
humiIiale you, meaning lhal il obIiges you lo aIvays remain
humbIe: |usl vhenyou slarl feeIing over-confidenl and eIaled afler
a good shol, lhe nexl slroke is oflen nol exaclIy vhal you lhoughl il
Sorls diIomacy
76
vouId be, reminding you lhal you sliII have a vay logo.
And lhis humbIing exerience vas on fuII disIay on lhe oening
day of lhe firsl ever Iakislan Ambassador goIf lournamenl in lhe
NelherIands. I had lo Iay an oening shol, vhich required me lo
Iob lhe baII across a narrov slream of valer. Nolhing scares a nev
goIfer lhan valer on lhe goIf course. Lesl I Iose my baII a goIden
one, seciaI for lhe inauguralion ceremony, vilh everyone
valching, I vas cerlainIy unsure of hov I vouId Iay. The smaII
slream of valer ahead of me Iooked Iike a vasl river, videning lo
snalch and svaIIov my goIf baII. I hil lhe baII hard and lhere il
venl, far beyond vhal vas required, bul lo my reIief il vas across
valer. So I vas hay. The nexl came an exerienced goIfer, and
guess vhal haened. He loed lhe baII, lo his embarrassmenl
and lo everyone's amusemenl. And I remembered vhal lhe Greek
Ambassador had loId me.
The 2010 lournamenl vas a reasonabIe success as veII. I had lhe
honour of Iaying in lhe firsl fIighl vilh lhe once Dulch goIf
chamion and calain of Dulch leam for len years. We received a
fairIy decenl resonse, and Agha sahib vorked very hard logelher
vilh CounseIIor Aamir Shaukal lo make il a success. The
lournamenl vas organized ona no-rofil, no-Ioss basis, bul ve did
use il lo raise some funds for lhe viclims of lhe 2010 fIoods in
Iakislan. In 2011, ve exanded lhe scoe and formal of lhe
lournamenl. The Dosly Second Iakislan's Ambassador GoIf
Tournamenl vas heId in urgGoIf Zoelermeer on 22 Selember
2011. Iorly goIfers reresenling lhe Dulch Minislry of Ioreign
Affairs, DiIomalic Cors, Queen's Cabinel, business communily
and Iakislani-Dulch communily arlicialed in lhe lournamenl.
The Minislry of Ioreign Affairs fieIded severaI senior ranking
Iayers, incIuding lhe Secrelary GeneraI and lhe Deuly Direclor
77
Sorls diIomacy
GeneraI for deveIomenl cooeralion. Anumber of Ambassadors
arlicialed, in arlicuIar my good friends vilh vhom I had
slarled Iaying reguIarIy vilh--Ambassadors AIsaghir (Lebanon),
Iconomides (Greece) and Koezuka (}aan). The CIub rovided
exceIIenl services. We exlended lo our guesls a lasle of Iakislani
hosilaIily, incIuding a dinner afler lhe lournamenl. The
anlicialed exendilure Iooked vay beyond our execlalion.
CounseIIor Aamir Shaukal and I had lo vork hard lo kee lhe
exense vilhinour means. The sonsorshi by IIAcame inhandy,
vhich icked u some cosls by roviding goIf baIIs and goIf cas
vilh our Iogo on il. We vere deIighled vhen Secrelary GeneraI of
lhe Ioreign Minislry, Id Kronenburg, seaking al lhe rize
dislribulion ceremony arecialed lhe exceIIenl siril of lhe
lournamenl vhich he said vas being heId under lhe aegis of
exceIIenl reIalions belveen Iakislan and lhe NelherIands. The
lournamenl crealed quile a mark in lhe business circIes, as veII as
lhe Ioreign Minislry and lhe diIomalic cors. Ambassador of
}aanTakashi Koezuka vonlhe lournamenl.
The inilialive lo slring aII lhree rongs of lhe sorls diIomacy
Hockey, Crickel, GoIf inlolhe brand name of DOSTY(friendshi),
roduced imressive and inslanl dividends by romoling lhe
sofler side of Iakislan far and vide in lhe NelherIands. DOSTY
cus became a veII knovn name in lhe main echeIons of lhe Dulch
governmenl, lhe IarIiamenl, and in various business circIes. The
facl lhal ve slarled receiving reguIar osilive feedback aboul lhe
good name of Iakislan and lhe Iakislani communily in lhe
NelherIands vas in no smaII measures due, in my viev, lo lhe
successfuI disIay of sorls diIomacy. Our ovn Minislry of
IoreignAffairs aIsorovided due suorl vhichindeed heIed us
suslain our endeavors. We aIso designed allraclive oslers and
disIayed lhem arorialeIy in lhe Chancery. The Governmenl
Sorls diIomacy
78
aIsoacceled my recommendalionloconfer Tamgha-e-Khidmal
on lhe Lale Mr. Muhammad Iasih Shamsi, a befilling lribule lo his
conlribulion lo sorls diIomacy by having inilialed lhe lvo
lournamenls years ago. More aboul lhis Ialer inlhis book.
79
Sorls diIomacy
The Iadies sle forvard
No sociely can deveIo ils osilive image unIess ils vomen Iay
lheir righlfuI roIe in lhe socio-cuIluraI Iife. During my firsl fev
monlhs here, I allended a number of communily evenls. I vas
slruck by lhe very Iimiled arlicialion of vomen in lhese evenls.
Il vas imorlanl lhal Iakislani Iadies in lhe NelherIands shouId
aIso sle forvard, inleracl vilh each olher, and heI lo ro|ecl lhe
rich cuIluraI herilage of our counlry. An oorlunily arose vhen
one of Iakislani Iadies, vho had been raised here in lhe
NelherIands, Ms Afshan AIam, aIong vilh her husband Nasir
AIam, came u lo me during our 14 Augusl Indeendence Day
recelion, and exressed an inleresl in organizing some cuIluraI
evening for lhe Iadies. Na|ia and I vere convinced lhal ve had lo
slarl somevhere lo enabIe lhe Iadies lo Iay lheir due roIe. We
lherefore seized lhe oorlunily. A number of olher Iadies,
Shahzadi aig Shamsi, Mrs. Iirdausi, and Mrs. ari, aIso came
forvard and lhere ve vere, ready lo embark on a rocess lhal vas
loIaler yieId many inleresling and memorabIe evenls. ul lomove
in a syslemalic manner, ve had lo have a framevork, and an
umbreIIa under vhich ve vouId organize vhalever ve couId.
And lhal is hov came lhe idea lo have an organizalion of Iakislani
Iadies in lhe NelherIands lhal vouId vork in cIose Iiaison vilh lhe
Imbassy and under Na|ia's alronage, and rovide lhal Iong
desired Ialform for lhe Iakislani Iadies inlhe NelherIands.
In Selember-Oclober 2009, ve eslabIished lhe Iakislan Ladies
Associalion in lhe NelherIands (ILAIN) vilh lhe ob|eclive of
romoling lhe rich cuIluraI herilage of Iakislan and bringing
80
logelher lhe Iakislani, Dulch and olher communilies. Why lhe
name ILAIN` We lhoughl of differenl names, bul evenluaIIy
sellIed on ILAIN lo signify lhal lhis Organizalion has no oIilicaI
agenda, ils ob|eclive is Iain and simIe: romole socio-cuIluraI
inleraclion among lhe Iakislani Iadies and ro|ecl lhe cuIlure of
Iakislan lo Dulch and olher communilies. Our son, Mubeen
Ahmad, vho is an archilecl and urban Ianner, designed a Iogo
fealuring lhe orlrail of a forvarding Iooking Iakislani voman.
We agreed on a concel aer oulIining lhe broad aramelers
under vhich lhis vas lo oerale. The ILAIN venl on lo serve as a
non-rofil socio-cuIluraI organizalion, oen lo Iakislani and
Iakislan-origin Iadies, vorked under lhe alronage of lhe
Imbassy, and vas managed by a oard lhal vorked efficienlIy lo
creale many imressive shovs.
On 19 Selember 2009, ILAIN organized ils very firsl funclion, a
xi
chandraal feslivily, lo veIcome Iid-uI-Iilr. Tvo monlhs Ialer, on
26 November, lhe Organizalion arranged eidraal lo mark Iid-uI-
Adha. The lvoevenls fealured veIcome fIover garIands, Iakislani
sveels, churian, and henna, decor of lhe haII vilh lradilionaI hues,
aII of vhich refIecled lhe Iakislani ambience gaIvanized by
handmade siIk ouch invilalions made by Na|ia vhich lurned oul
lo be lhe mosl ouIar souvenir, eIeganl easlern dances, and a
fashion shov lhal disIayed coIourfuI Iakislani allires. The guesls
incIuded Iady vives of severaI high Iaced Dulch officiaIs and
olher infIuenliaI dignilaries from amongsl lhe diIomalic cors
and olher areas. The feedback lo Na|ia, vho as alron vas
overseeing lhe lvo evenls, vas highIy encouraging, and firmIy
eslabIished lhe name of ILAIN as an effeclive framevork lo
ro|ecl our cuIluraI richness. Iid MiIadun Nabi, ceIebraled vilh
siriluaI fervour aII across Iakislan, vas lhe lhird evenl organized
by lhe Iakislan Ladies Associalion in lhe NelherIands (ILAIN) in
81
Iebruary 2010 vhichvas allended by over a hundred Iadies.
Wilh lhe confidence of lhese Iadies rising in lheir abiIily lo ul
logelher Iarge evenls, lhe ILAIN organized a much Iarger evenl, a
Music MehfiI, on 24 May 2010 lo ay lribule lo lhe Iiving Iegend
Maeslro SohaiI Rana, vho fIev in from Canada. The memorabIe
evening vas marked by meIodious songs comosed by SohaiI
Rana during his four-decade Iong music career, Iike Sohni dharli
AIIah Rakhhe, and AkaiIe na |ana, a song lhal I had Iislened as a
chiId groving u insixlies and earIy sevenlies, aIong vilhscores of
olher meIodious songs. Na|ia and I aIso remembered fondIy lhe
music sessions for chiIdren lhal SohaiI Rana used lo hoId on
Iakislan leIevision |usl afler lhe TV came inlo Iakislan in lhe mid
sixlies. To re-Iive lhese memories, ve inviled Mr. SohaiI Rana lo
slay vilhus, vhichhe kindIy acceled. Ior lhe 24 May evenl, lhere
vas a greal demand. The ILAIN members vere given reference
in accessing invilalions. Around 130 guesls comrising ILAIN
members, lheir souses and famiIy members en|oyed lhe musicaI
evenl. The ouIar demand for allending lhe evenl shoved lhal
lhe ILAIN had succeeded in mobiIizing Iakislani-Dulch Iadies in
coming logelher lo en|oy lhe richness of our cuIlure. Maeslro
SohaiI Rana exressed his admiralion for ILAIN's vork and
ob|eclives and announced lhal he vouId comose an anlhem for
ILAIN as his gifl lo lhe Associalion. In Augusl 2010, lhe ILAIN
heId a fund-raising Iflaar dinner for lhe fIood viclims, vhich vas
allended by aII communilies, incIuding lhe diIomalic cors in lhe
NelherIands. The funds coIIecled vere donaled lo heI lhe viclims
of 2010 fIoods inIakislan.
ILAIN kicked off 2011 vilh a highIy enlerlaining and en|oyabIe
evening in }anuary vhich fealured lhe gifls-Iaden game of
'TamboIa'. An age oId game daling back lo lhe 1500's, TamboIa
82
rovided an oorlunily for an informaI, engaging, and
IeasurabIe evening for lhe members of ILAIN. Il reveaIed lhe
siril of comelilion and aIso broughl forvard some highIy
laIenled members vilh arlislic, crealive and humorous sides.
There vere aIso various olher mini evenls during lhe evening
aIIoving everyone a chance lo vin somelhing and arliciale. The
evenl crealed so much fun lhal il vas reealed Ialer in lhe year, bul
lhis lime vilh souses. The second evenl vas a mehfiI-e-hamd-o-
naal lo recile raises for lhe Crealor and lhe Irohel. Ierhas lhe
mosl imressive of ILAIN evenls in 2011 vas an Iid MiIan and
ridaI dress shov allended by Dulch, diIomalic cors and
Iakislani Iadies. The evenl shov-cased lhe coIorfuI lradilions lhal
accomany lhe veddings, vhich are one of lhe mosl ceIebraled
feslivilies inIakislan. I sav Na|ia and lhe Iadies onlhe oard vork
very hard, and vas Ieased lo find lhal lhe girIs and Iadies vere
viIIing lo arliciale as brides and lhen rehearsed for days lo ul
u a nice shov. And ul u lhey sureIy did. AouIar ilem in lhis
evening vas lhe ga|ra braceIel made vilh fresh highIy fragranl
molia (vhile |asmine) fIovers from Iakislan, courlesy IIA
manager KhaIiI MughaI vho made an excelionaI efforl lo ensure
lhal lhese fIovers vere acked in Iakislan al lhe Iasl minule and
boarded on lhe Iasl fIighl lo arrive here absoIuleIy fresh. Iach
arriving guesl vouId be veIcomed vilh a ga|ra on her vrisl,
imbuing her vilh lhe Iove and fragrances of Iakislan. The evening
served lhe lvin ob|eclives of romoling lhe rich cuIluraI herilage
of Iakislan, our sofler side, and bringing Iakislani, Dulch and
olher communilies cIoser.
Al lhe end of lhe firsl lhree years of ILAIN's Iife, Na|ia and I
convened lhe ILAIN oard lo reviev lhe vork done by ILAIN.
We vere aII salisfied lhal lhe invenlory of ILAIN's evenls had
grovn, making a significanl conlribulion lo lhe romolion of
83
cuIlure of Iakislan in lhe NelherIands. We discussed hov lo
ensure lhal ILAIN remains suslainabIe and does nol vilher avay
arlicuIarIy nov lhal il had achieved so much. Il had organized
quile a fev aclivilies, aII on non-rofil basis, and aII organized by
voIunleers from lhe Iakislani or Iakislani origin Iadies Iiving in
lhe NelherIands. Il vas agreed lhal lhe Organizalion vouId
remainregislered vilhlhe Imbassy and hoe lhal lhe Ialler vouId
conlinue lo rovide fuII suorl in lhe years lo come, incIuding
avaiIabiIily of lhe Iakislan House vhich had served as a
resligious, secure and cosl-free venue for mosl of ILAIN
aclivilies, incIuding lhe chand raal (Selember 2009), eid raal
(November 2009), mehfiI-e-miIad (Iebruary 2010), music mehfiI
vilh SohaiI Rana (May 2010), fund raising iflaar (Augusl 2010),
lamboIa nighl (}anuary 2011), mehfiI-e-hamdo-naal (March 2011)
and eid miIIanand bridaI dress shov (Selember 2011). Aveb-sile
vvv.Iaink.nI. vas crealed loshov case aclivilies of ILAIN, and
vas mainlained by lhe ILAIN bureau members. The sile name vas
so chosen lo bring in references lo bolh Iakislan and lhe
NelherIands, and symboIizing one of lhe ma|or ob|eclives of lhe
Organizalion: lo bring lhe eoIe of lhe lvo counlries cIoser. My
friend from lhe CoIIege days, SohaiI Raza, voIunlariIy hosled and
mainlained lhe sile. Ior lhe Imbassy slaff, aII lhese evenls being
organized in Iakislan House enlaiIed considerabIe vork. They
had lo move aII furnilure and furnishings, make aII arrangemenls
for lhe shovs, and lhen ul everylhing back in Iace. ul I lhink il
vas an efforl vorlh ils vhiIe, and mosl of our coIIeagues did so
mosl viIIingIy.
84
Shov - casing cuIlure, lhe mega slyIe -
Iakislan feslivaIs
The Hague is hosl lo a number of feslivaIs year round, bul had
never heId a Iakislani cuIluraI feslivaI. The Iakislani Dulch
communily had a Iong cherished desire lo see lheir communily gel
logelher in Iarge numbers and lo creale an ambience of lheir
cuIlure for aII lo see. Olher communilies based in lhe NelherIands,
Iike lhe Surinamese, Turkish, and Indonesian communilies, had
successfuIIy eslabIished such lradilions. In lhe sring of 2009,
vhen I had |usl arrived and ve vere Ianning for lhe Ambassador
hockey lournamenl, a rominenl Iakislani, Tahir Shah Iqrar,
suggesled lo me lo exand lhe formal of lhe hockey lournamenl
and incIude some slaIIs on lhe side lo give lhe lournamenl a more
feslive Iook. The idea vas greal bul I vanled lomainlainlhe formal
of lhe hockey cu lradilion in lhe form in vhich il has been during
lhe asl lvo decades. I am convinced lhal lhe communilies lhal
resecl lradilions aIvays lhrive. Il is a common raclice lhal
eoIe leII you lhal vhalever haened before your lime vas sub-
slandard. I cerlainIy do nol share lhal. The good lradilions musl
nol onIy be suslained bul aIso enriched. ul al lhe same lime, nev
ideas musl be veIcomed. We, lherefore, decided lo conlinue vilh
hockey lournamenl in ils originaI formal, al Iease for lhe resenl
year, and vork on lhe feslivaI idea searaleIy. And lhus emerged
lhe idea aboul hoIding a feslivaI, or meIa as ve caII il inUrdu. Laler,
besides Tahir Iqrar, severaI olhers incIuding Syed I|az Saifi and
Ra|a Iarooq aIso ileraled lhe need lo have a shov-casing of
Iakislani cuIlure ona grand scaIe.
ul I sliII did nol vanl lo rush lhrough lhe rocess, and ve vailed
for one year before ve heId our firsl-ever feslivaI in lhe
NelherIands. The reason vas simIe. Iverylhing in lhe
85
NelherIands is organized veII in advance. Iicking u lhe righl
venue, for inslance, vas one such crilicaI decision. Tahir Iqrar
indicaled a galed ark vhichvas suilabIe loaccommodale around
five lhousand and aIso had a sorls arena. The acquisilion of lhe
ark for lhe feslivaI and firming u lhe requisile Iogislics lurned
oul lo be an uhiII lask. The conlraclor of lhe Iark slarled hard
negolialions and kel raising his rices. Since everylhing vas a
firsl lime for lhe communily and lhe Imbassy, a lime came vhen I
slarled vondering if ve vouId be abIe lo make lhis haen. Syed
I|az Saifi and lvo youngslers, Mohsin SaIman and Asad Hussain,
vorked lireIessIy under lhe guidance of CommerciaI CounseIIor
Ashraf lo ul logelher lhe disarale ieces. ul ve sliII vouId nol
have made il if ve did nol gel lhe limeIy suorl of Gemeenle Den
Haag, vhose deuly mayor, Rabin aIdevsingh, vas mosl
forlhcoming and offered lremendous faciIilalion, incIuding some
financiaI subsidies. Rabin aIdevsingh, a Suriname Dulch and a
versaliIe oIilician of greal laIenl, became a good friend and
remained so lhroughoul our slay inThe Hague. Rabinand his vife
Ralna allended many of our olher evenls.
The Hague municiaIily (Gemeenle Den Haag) vas very
forlhcoming, arlIy because ve had aIigned Iakislan feslivaI's
ob|eclive vilh Gemeenle's ovn goaI of romoling harmony and
underslanding belveenvarious communilies Iiving inlhe cily and
heI lhem inlegrale beller vilh lheir adoled homeIand. The
feslivaI vas organized ona no-rofil, no-Ioss basis. Ior aer vork
required by lhe Gemeenle, ve used lhe good offices of lhe Iak
Dulch NalionaI Iorum, vhich cooeraled, by firsl acceling lhe
resonsibiIily (lhey rovided aII financiaI accounls) and lhen
agreeing lo my suggeslion lo nol lo ubIicize lheir roIe. I vanled
lhal lhis aclivily musl have fuII ovnershi of lhe enlire
communily, and nol lhal of any one organizalion. The Iorum
86
honored ils commilmenl, nol onIy for 2010 feslivaI bul aIsofor 2011
feslivaI. This enhanced lheir resecl in my hearl. I vas aIso hay
lhal aII organizalions and individuaIs fuIIy arlicialed in lhe
endeavor. Il vas hearlening lo see lhe unily of our communily in
fuII disIay during lhe rearalory hase.
The hurried efforl ul logelher by a leam of voIunleers beIonging
lo aII segmenls of lhe Iakislani-Dulch communily cuIminaled in
lhe hisloric firsl-ever Iakislan sorls and cuIluraI feslivaI in lhe
NelherIands on 6 }une 2010. The feslivaI fealured muIliIe sorls,
Iakislani food, and music. There vas some allraclion for every age
grou, from youlh and chiIdren lo vomen and lhe communily al
Iarge. The famous foIk singer Shaukal AIi and comere and aulhor
AfzaaI Shahid enlerlained lhe audience. IIArovided lickels for
lhe arlisls, lhanks lolhe osilive allilude of IIAmanager, Ieyaz AIi
Shah, a ouIar and amiabIe ersonaIily. Syed I|az Saifi managed
lhe slage very veII. He has excelionaI oralory quaIilies vilh lhe
confidence lo seak in chasle Urdu, IngIish and Dulch. He vas
assisled by Iervez IqbaI, a Iilerary figure from Iakislani Dulch
Chrisliancommunily. Adinner vas aIsoarranged for lhe sonsors
al vhich Shaukal AIi gave seciaI erformance. In relrosecl,
arranging lhe dinner vas nol necessary as eoIe vere lired afler
lhe day- Iong feslivily. ul lhen lhis loo served us veII by honoring
lhe sonsors vilhoul vhose financiaI suorl lhis couId nol have
been arranged. AII in aII, lhe feslivaI shov-cased Iakislani cuIlure
in aII ils rich hues and conlribuled lo romoling lhe sofl image of
Iakislan in lhe NelherIands. Avebsile vas eslabIished lo disIay
lhe fuII delaiIs of lhe aclivily: vvv.akislanfeslivaI.nI. IaisaI
Saeed, our designer, reared our Iogos, bookIels, and olher aer
vork vilhgreal efficiency.
Ior me lhe mosl salisfying faclor vas lhal lhe Iakislani communily
87
remained uniled and lhal il fiIIed us aII vilh a greal sense of
nalionaI ride. The feslivaI broughl Iakislani and olher
communilies logelher, and deeened bonds lhrough cuIluraI and
sorls inleraclion. The buzz of lhe 2010 feslivaI or meIa vas such
lhal il crealed a counlry-vide execlalion lhal lhe lradilion of an
annuaI feslivaI vouId be conlinued. Given lhe lremendous boosl
lo lhe image of Iakislan lhal 2010 meIa had given, ve in lhe
Imbassy decided lo suorl lhe communily in organizing 2011
meIa as veII, bul lhis lime vilh a difference. I vanled lhal lhis lime
around lhe communily ilseIf shouId shouIder a grealer burden of
organizing lhe evenl. Why` My desire vas lhal lhe communily
shouId be abIe lo deveIo a leam lhal vouId lake lhe Ieadershi in
organizing nol onIy 2011 feslivaI bul many more in lhe years
ahead, and nol onIy in The Hague bul olher cilies of lhe counlry as
veII. Il vas a risky reosilion, as many sonsors vho had come
forvard slarled doubling if lhis exerimenl vouId be a success.
ul I slayed firm lhal lhe communily has come of age and can
organize lhe meIa by ilseIf, of course vilh suorl from lhe
Imbassy. And lhis is exaclIy hov il haened. As ve roceeded
vilhour rearalions, lhose reIuclanl aIsocame aIong.
Ior lhe 2011 meIa, a muchbigger venue (Zuiderark) vas seIecled,
and lhe organizing leam loo vas exanded. As execled, lhe evenl
allracled a huge resonse in lerms of allendance from lhe muIli-
cuIluraI miIieu of The Hague cily. Wilhin lhe feslivaI, lhere vas
aIso a sub-feslivaI lhe food feslivaI- vhich afforded arlicianls
an oorlunily lo en|oy lhe deIeclabIe cuisine of Iakislan and
SoulhAsia. The feslivaI vas inauguraled by me and deuly mayor
of The Hague, Rabin aIdevsingh. We vere Iucky vilh lhe
vealher lhis lime (In 2010 feslivaI, il had rained and many of lhe
visilors had lo lurn back and miss lhe feslivaI, vhich in a vay vas
fine because lhe venue couId nol lake more lhan 5000). The 5lh of
88
}une 2011 vas a cIear brighl beaulifuI day, ideaI for feslivaI. The
feslivaI had sorls fixlures (voIIeybaII, kabaddi, kile-fIying, and
rassa kashi), a vide variely of Iakislani food, and allraclions for
chiIdren and vomen. Many non-Iakislanis vere aIso resenl and
il vas an en|oyabIe sighl lo see lhem visil Iakislani slaIIs and rave
aboul hov lhey never knev lhal lheir feIIov cilizens of Iakislani
origin couId be so hosilabIe and fun-Ioving. The music by lhe
IocaI laIenl vas Iayed lhroughoul lhe day, cuIminaling in a
musicaI evening fealuring lhe Ieading Iakislani accomIished
singer Abrar uI Haq, vho enlerlained lhe audience vilh his
ouIar numbers. As in lhe asl, IIA rovided lickels for Abrar
and his leam. Nev IIA manager KhaIiI MughaI vas as
forlhcoming as his redecessor Ieyaz AIi Shah. A rominenl
businessman, }ameeI Ahmad, hosled lhe arlisls and aIso
coordinaled a fund raising evenl lhe nighl before lhe feslivaI. The
feslivaI venue remained |am acked vilh seclalors lhroughoul
lhe day. IamiIies lurned oul in Iarge numbers lo feasl on Iakislani
food, en|oy lradilionaI sorls, and sho Iakislani roducls.
I vas hay lhal lhe feslivaI 2011 achieved ils ob|eclive, i.e. shov-
case Iakislan lo a vide audience vho vere enlhraIIed by lhe
richness of Iakislani cuIlure, sorls, music and cuisine. Once
again, Rabin aIdevsingh offered vaIuabIe suorl by faciIilaling
financiaI subsidy from Gemeenle Den Haag, gelling us lhe
necessary arovaIs for lhe venue quickIy, and heIed us ensure
lhe limeIy oening of lhe feslivaI. The exerimenl did ose cerlain
difficuIlies. The arrangemenls by lhe conlraclor vere nol in
keeing vilh lhe requiremenls of lhe Gemeenle, vhich deIayed
lhe oening of lhe feslivaI. WhiIe olher sorls evenls venl aIrighl,
kabaddi vas firsl deIayed and Ialer concIuded hurriedIy, robabIy
because lhe ruIes of lhe game vere nol cIarified in advance, one of
lhe leams had non-Iakislani Iayers vhich vere ob|ecled by lhe
89
leam lhal vas Iosing. Thanks lo lhe skiIfuI handIing by Ha|i
Rukhsar, lhe evenl did nol creale a ma|or issue. ul on baIance,
lhings sorled lhemseIves oul, and ve had agood shov.
The lvo feslivaIs fuIIy served lheir ob|eclive of romoling lhe sofl
image of Iakislan in lhe NelherIands. This vas made ossibIe by
an oulslanding leam efforl. I vouId be remiss if I do nol
acknovIedge here lhe names of some of many voIunleers and
sonsors vho vorked hard lo make aII lhis haen: }ameeI
Ahmad, Ha|i Rukhsar, AIi Navaz Iirdausi, I|az Saifi, Idrees
Ahmad, Ra|a Iarooq, Kazim Hussain, Ra|a }aved, Imran }aved
IqbaI, Tahir Syed, Tahir Shah Iqrar, Asim, Kevin, Asad, Mohsin
SaIman, Chaudhry Yousuf, M. Arashd, Iflikhar Hussain, Waseem,
Yaar Khan, RaheeIa Mahmood, and lvo IIAmanagers Ieyaz Shah
in 2010 and KhaIiI MughaI in 2011. They and many olhers vhose
names I may have missed vorked as voIunleers, simIy oul of lheir
Iove for Iakislan and oul of lheir conviclion lhal romoling
Iakislan in lhe NelherIands vas Iike buiIding lvo homes for lhem
and lheir fulure generalions.
Lilerary scene
The communily Iandscae inlhe NelherIands did nol seem lohave
many rosecls for any Iilerary aclivilies. Or so I lhoughl. UnliI
one day, al one of lhe communily evenls, a suggeslion came u lo
ceIebrale IqbaI day every year. I lhoughl lhis vas a greal idea, since
il vouId rovide an oorlunily lo nol onIy ay lribule lo our
nalionaI oel, bul aIso lesl oul communily's aelile for Iilerary
aclivilies. Iak Dulch NalionaI Iorum, and ils secrelary generaI
Syed I|az Saifi, look lhe Iead, and vilh Imbassy's suorl, il
organized IqbaI Day in November 2009. Il vas organized in a IocaI
church vhich has imressive inlerior and vhich became venue for
90
many of lheir subsequenl rograms. Afler aying lribule lo
Iakislan's nalionaI oel, AIIama IqbaI, lhere vas a oelry session
or mushaira. Ioels from across Iuroe arlicialed. The evenl vas
en|oyabIe lhough everyone feIl lhal more lime shouId have been
rovided lo each oel, some of vhom Iike AdeeI, Imran Saqib, and
Safdar Hamdani had resenled highquaIily verses.
One ma|or reason vhy lhe mushaira 2009 aeared comressed
and shorl on lime vas lhal lhe dinner or heavy refreshmenls,
vhich vere a norm of many of lhe communily evenls, vouId lake
u a ma|or chunk of lhe avaiIabIe lime. In mosl of Iakislan
communily evenls, lhe organizers over-reached in mainlaining
our lime honoured lradilion of hosilaIily by offering eIaborale
dinners. Some argued lhal arlicianls do nol lurn u if dinner
vas nol served. I did nol quile agree. Having Iarge dinners on lhe
sides of such evenls, eseciaIIy lhe Iilerary evenls or music
evenings lake u a Iol of lime and enlaiIed big budgels
undermining lhe quaIily of lhe rogram. In subsequenl Iilerary
rograms, ve decided lo curlaiI lhe raclice of serving eIaborale
dinners. And il so lurned oul lhal lhe funclions slarled allracling a
much beller crovd, lhe ones vho reaIIy cared for Iilerary aclivilies
(and nol dinners). I vas IeasanlIy surrised lo see lhal lhe lurn-
oul of lhese funclions rogressiveIy increased.
In 2010, ve look lhe IqbaI day aclivily a nolch higher by inviling a
renovned aulhor, aclor, comere, and inleIIecluaI, Mr. Muslansar
Hussain Tarar, vho eseciaIIy fIev in from Lahore lo |oin lhe IqbaI
day ceIebralions. The evenls lo remember our nalionaI oel vere
nov becoming a reguIar fealure in lhe NelherIands and gelling
increasingIy ouIar. Again, il vas Iak-Dulch NalionaI Iorum,
vhich in cooeralion vilh lhe Imbassy, organized lhe evenl. The
lribule lo IqbaI vas foIIoved by an evening vilh Mr. Tarar vho
91
read oul some of his mosl-read Iilerary ieces. Mr. Tarar Ialer on
vrole in his roIific slyIe a delaiIed accounl of his visil lo lhe
NelherIands in his book 'HeIIo HoIIand'. Na|ia and I offered Mr.
Tarar and his vife lo slay al my residence, vhich lhey kindIy
acceled. Mr. Tarar is a renovned ersonaIily of Iakislan vho has
conlribuled so much lo our sociely, and his son, SuI|uk, had
vorked vilh me in IsIamabad. The days ve senl vilh him are
nov our fond memories.
Incouraged by lhe rogress made and resonse received in 2009
and 2010, ve decided lo ceIebrale lvo evenls in 2011: lhe 100lh
birlhanniversary of renovned Urdu oel Iaiz Ahmad Iaiz and lhe
IqbaI day. The Iaiz day allracled a number of rominenl fans of
Iaiz from aII across Iuroe, incIuding Sadaf Mirza, an aclive
communily member from Denmark. Irom Iakislan, ve inviled
Irofessor Anvar Masood, lhe famous Iersian, Urdu and Iun|abi
oel. The formal vas lhe same, a lribule lo Iaiz foIIoved by an
evening vilh Mr. Anvar Masood. I vas imressed vilh lhe
richness of comIimenls aid lo Iaiz for his slrong voice for lhe
righls of lhe oor and lhe under-riviIeged. Irofessor Anvar
Masood aid homage lo Iaiz in lhe firsl session, and Ialer
enlhraIIed lhe audience vilh his free fIoving oelry, arlicuIarIy
lhe Iun|abi humorous verses. Ior lhe IqbaI day lhal ve ceIebraled
in November 2011, once again oels from aII across Iuroe vere
inviled. The venue and formal foIIoved in lhe revious lvo years
vas relained. The lribule lo IqbaI vas foIIoved by a mushaira
chaired by oel asir Kazmi, son of Urdu Iegendary oel Nasir
Kazmi. I arlicuIarIy en|oyed lhe geslure of lhe organizers lo invile
me lo Iighl a candIe al lhe slarl of lhe mushaira in memory of lhe
lradilion foIIoved by Urdu mushairas cenluries ago vhereby each
oel vouId resenl his kaIam (verses) vhen a candIe caIIed
shama'a vouId be broughl inhis fronl.
92
I vas hearlened lo see lhal lhe communily vas shoving u in
increasingIy Iarger numbers vhichrefIecled lhe Iilerary lasle of lhe
Iakislani communily. In lhe earIy monlhs of 2012, al lhe lime of
finaIizing lhis book, ve had inilialed lhe rocess lo ceIebrale
Iakislan Day in lhe comany of renovned schoIar, aulhor and
oel, Am|ad IsIam Am|ad. Amongsl lhe IocaI laIenl, a nolabIe
name is Asad Mufli, vilh vhom I en|oyed inleIIecluaI discussions,
and vho vrole reguIarIy for Iakislani aers. Anolher Iakislani-
Dulch, Iarooq KhaIid, lransIaled many Urdu books inlo Dulch.
ul if I have lo idenlify one erson vilhoul vhose aclive
engagemenl aII lhese Iilerary aclivilies couId nol have been
reaIized, il vouId be Syed I|az Saifi, vho deserves my fuII
commendalion.
93
Linking lhroughCommerce
NelherIands is animorlanl lrading arlner of Iakislan. One of lhe
largels in our Mission Slalemenl vas lo romole biIaleraI lrade
belveen lhe lvo counlries. Given lhe chaIIenges of an energy
deficil and lhe delerioraling securily silualion in Iakislan lhose
days, ve decided lo venlure inlo non-lradilionaI areas, such as
fruils and rice, lo off-sel, lo some exlenl, lhe decIine in lhe lrade of
home lexliIe, our main seclor of exorl inleresl. Of equaI
imorlance vas lhe need lo give lhe Dulch a suslained message
lhal lrade vilh Iakislan makes good business sense. To exlracl
maximum vaIue oul of our lrade romolion efforls, ve adaled
our lrade romolion slralegy such lhal il vouId aIso generale
goodviII for Iakislan. Once more, olics vas |usl as imorlanl as
lhe subslance . We lhus decided lo use lhe commerciaI evenls for
duaI uroses: romoling biIaleraI lrade as veII as goodviII and
underslanding belveen lraders of lhe lvo counlries. We furlher
decided lo dovelaiI our cuIluraI evenls lo suorl lhe commerciaI
inroads. This is nol lhe forum lo go inlo delaiIs of our lrade
romolion efforls. Whal is reIevanl here is lo slale lhal lhe
inlegraled slralegy lo romole lrade and underslanding rovided
veIcome oorlunilies for image buiIding for Iakislan, and
became a crilicaI comonenl of our efforls lo romole goodviII
belveenlhe lvocounlries.
Mango lhe king of fruils exlends his domain
The firsl ma|or commerciaI oorlunily came during lhe summer
of 2009, vhen lhe commerciaI ving of lhe Imbassy organized a
mango exhibilion on 25 }une al HiIlon HoleI, Rollerdam. We had
94
no funds, and had lo reIy, enlireIy on our ovn resources. Il vas a
chaIIenge, bul ve managed lo uII il off. The venue came in
comIimenlary as lhe IIA crev used lo slay in lhal holeI. I
rovided refreshmenls oul of my enlerlainmenl aIIovance. And
for lhe suIy of mangoes, our commerciaI conseIIor, Mohammad
Ashraf, evoIved a very crealive scheme. He malch-made lhree
exorlers from Iakislan and lhree imorlers in lhe NelherIands,
vho lhen became our exhibilors. In lerms of lheir charges, ve look
a number of mango boxes from each of lhe exhibilors and vilh my
comIimenlary sIi senl lhe mangoes lo lhe homes of imorlanl
imorlers, businessmen, high officiaIs and olher infIuenliaI
Ieaders. This vas a remarkabIe success as ve vere nol onIy abIe lo
hoId lhe exhibilion vilhoul any exenses charged lo lhe
governmenl, bul aIso allracled a sizeabIe number of vhoIesaIers,
imorlers and relaiIers of fresh fruils and vegelabIes lo lhe
Ixhibilion. Mosl imorlanlIy, of course, ve generaled in lhe
rocess lremendous goodviII for Iakislan. Seven varielies of
Iakislani mangoes vere ul ondisIay and aIsomade avaiIabIe for
lasling, aIong vilh lhe differenl deIicacies reared from mango.
An inlensive markeling camaign for lhe romolion of lhe
Iakislani mango in lhe NelherIands increased lhe exorls of
Iakislani mangololhe NelherIands by 36% during 2009.
Il is said lhal nolhing succeeds Iike success. This cerlainIy heId lrue
in lhis case. The osilive reulalion of lhe exhibilion heId in 2009
sread far and vide and generaled considerabIe inleresl amongsl
mango exorlers of Iakislan. AccordingIy, for lhe nexl annuaI
exhibilion of Iakislani mangoes in 2010, ve found a arlner in lhe
form of Iakislan HorlicuIluraI DeveIomenl and Ixorl
Comany, vhich nol onIy co-sonsored lhe exhibilion bul aIso
inviled lhe Commerce Minisler lo inaugurale il in HoleI Van der
VaIk SchihoI on 2 }uIy 2010. Comared lo lhe revious year, a
95
Iarger number of imorlers and relaiIers of Iakislani mangoes
arlicialed in lhe Ixhibilion. Ten varielies of Iakislani mangoes
vere ul on disIay in 2010. Many of our vorkers, such as my
gardener Nazeer, cook }ameeI, and olhers haiIy conlribuled lo
culling mangoes and making mango shakes lhal vere made
avaiIabIe for lasling. Adislinguishing fealure of lhis exhibilionvas
lhal for lhe firsl lime ve exhibiled mangoes broughl in via sea by a
IocaI imorler. Given lhe shorl sheIf Iife of mango, lhis vas a
remarkabIe move. And lhis vas |usl lhe beginning. A lriaI
shimenl of Iakislani mangoes arrived by sea in NelherIands on 6
Augusl 2010 marking a lransilion in lhe dynamics of exorl of
Iakislani mango lo Iuroe. We again senl mango gifl boxes lo our
officiaI conlacls.
A year Ialer, in 2011, Iakislani mangoes vere once again on
disIay, lhis lime in lhe cily of The Hague al a grand mango evenl
organized by lhe CommerciaI Wing of lhe Imbassy, vilh lhe
suorl of lhe Trade DeveIomenl Aulhorily of Iakislan. We had
no shorlage of sonsors nov. And lhe venue lhis lime vas aIso
more resligious, laking Iace inlhe Chamber of Commerce of The
Hague. More lhanlenvarielies of mangoes vere disIayed, and, as
er raclice, made avaiIabIe for lasling during lhe exhibilion. An
imorlanl breaklhrough lhis year vas lhal Iakislani mango aIso
enlered lhe assorlmenl of Hanos, one of lhe Iargesl chain slores of
horeca (holeIs, reslauranls & calering) suIies in lhe eneIux
markel. Like before, ve mainlained lhe lradilion of sending
comIimenlary boxes lo infIuenliaI ersonaIilies and look lhe
maximum IR(ubIic reIalioning) miIeage oul of lhese commerciaI
evenls, earning for Iakislan's name lhe exolic sveelness lhal
characlerizes our mangoes.
96
Kinnov - lhe vilaIizer
The olher roducl lhal ve markeled, essenliaIIy for commerciaI
reasons, bul aIso lo generale goodviII for Iakislan in lhe business
circIes of lhe NelherIands, vas lhe Iakislani kinnov, a seciaI, easy
lo eeI mandarin grovn in lhe Iun|ab rovince since 1940. We
organized lhe firsl exhibilion of Iakislani kinnov on 14 Iebruary
2010. The melhodoIogy vas simiIar lo vhal ve did for mangoes.
The Ieading imorlers of Iakislani kinnov in lhe NelherIands,
Suer Toko and AZ Inlerrises, vho vere aIso imorling
mangoes, vere rovided an oorlunily lo become our exhibilors
aIong vilh some olhers. WhiIe lhis firsl exhibilion vas aimed al
inlroducing lhe |uicy kinnov in lhe Dulch markel, lhe second
exhibilionheId a year Ialer (2011) vas organized rimariIy as a 2
evenl. HeId in Amslerdam, il allracled significanl resonse from
lhe buyers, lraders and consumers and more lhan 400 visilors
arlicialed inlhe evenl.
We knev lhal il vouId be a chaIIenge lo markel our kinnov in lhe
NelherIands, since lhe kinnov has seeds vhereas lhe Dulch
markel has a reference for seedIess mandarins. ul ve aIso knev
lhal Iakislani kinnov is unique due lo ils seciaI fIavor and high
|uice conlenl. So ve lried lo markel il for ils |uice and for ils
vilaIizing effecl. We vere confidenl lhal ve vouId be abIe lo find
some Iace for il in lhe Dulch markel. The breaklhrough came
vhen Hanos, one of lhe Iargesl chain slores of reslauranl and
calering suIies in eneIux markel, agreed lo exhibil and seII our
kinnov (|usl Iike vhal lhey had done for our mangoes). Like
mangoes, ve used lhe exhibilions of kinnov lo romole lhe good
name of Iakislan. On lhe eve of every exhibilion, ve vouId send
comIimenlary boxes of |uicy kinnov lo key business and officiaI
figures.
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Iakislani basmali sreads ils aroma
Iakislani basmali rice is regarded as a remier brand of rice in lhe
Iuroean markel. The Iakislani suer kerneI basmali rice is
arlicuIarIy ouIar and in high demand. Il vas an obvious choice
for us lo focus our efforls lo gel basmali inlo lhe Dulch markel. An
oorlunily arose vhen a rice deIegalion from Iakislan visiled
NelherIands during 2009 lo comIemenl our efforls lo inlroduce
Iakislani basmali in lhe NelherIands. The reaI boosl lo our efforls,
hovever, came vhen a number of Ieading rice exorlers from
Iakislan arlicialed in Irivale LabeI Manufaclurers Associalion
Iair in Amslerdam in May 2010 and secured Iarge orders for
suIying Iakislani basmali lo Ieading vhoIesaIe imorlers of rice
in lhe NelherIands. The Imbassy's commerciaI ving used crealive
vays for achieving lhis breaklhrough. We arranged lhe serving of
four dishes made of Iakislani rice (uIao, mulan|an, baryani, ea
uIao) vhich allracled Iarge crovds lo our aviIion. The buyers
vere imressed vilh lhe lasle and aroma of Iakislani basmali rice.
To furlher increase lhe uII faclor for our IaviIion, ve benefilled
from an inleresling and innovalive idea of Mohammad Ashraf. Al
our requesl, TDAI arranged lhe romolion of hand-slilched
soccer-baII in Iakislan aviIion. The romolionaI foolbaIIs, vilh
lhe vords Vibranl Iakislan and lhe Iocalion of Iakislan IaviIion
rinled on lhem, vere dislribuled lo lhe olenliaI buyers. The
romolionaI foolbaIIs became a moving adverlisemenl in lhe
enlire lrade fair and vere hugeIy successfuI in generaling lraffic of
buyers lovards Iakislan IaviIion. Our slaII hoIders vere very
hay and relurned vilh significanl orders. A year Ialer, severaI
rominenl rice exorlers from Iakislan relurned loAmslerdam lo
exhibil in lhe ILMAfair in May 2011. And lhe resuIls vere equaIIy
encouraging.
98
We vere obviousIy very hay lo see Iakislani basmali make
inroads inlo lhe mainslream Dulch markel. ul lhere vere olher
roducls loo lhal couId be markeled here. The Iakislan IaviIion al
ILMA's vorId of rivale IabeI lrade fair, heId in Amslerdam in
May of 2010 and 2011, became an effeclive channeI lo reach oul lo
Dulchbuyers. olhyears, Ieading exorlers of rice, rocessed food
ilems, surgicaI inslrumenls and kilchen lexliIes shovcased lheir
roducls. AIarge number of buying managers of brands and chain
slores heId business meelings vilh Iakislani exorlers on lhe
shov fIoor.
Our mosl imorlanl resource vas lhe businessmen vilhin lhe
Iakislani Dulch communily, lo vhom ve consislenlIy senl a
message lhal by engaging in lrade vilh Iakislan lhey vere doing
an imorlanl service for our counlry. Afler aII, lhey vere nol onIy
conlribuling lo lhe much needed foreign exchange, bul aIso
heIing generale |obs in Iakislan. I mainlained reguIar conlacls
vilh lhe business communily, arlicuIarIy lhe Ieading imorlers
from Iakislan lo discuss nol onIy lrade and inveslmenl bul aIso on
hov lo use lrade channeIs lo generale goodviII for Iakislan. We
aIso senl a deIegalion of Dulch imorlers lo arliciale in Ixo
Iakislan heId al Karachi Ixo Cenlre in Iebruary 2010 and aIso in
lhe foIIoving year inOclober 2011.
Tvo business forums of reIevance lo us vere conlinuing in lhe
NelherIands: NelherIands-Iakislan usiness CounciI sel u in
Iaslern NelherIands vas being run by Marlin Leushuis, a
Iongslanding friend of Iakislan, Iakislan usiness Iorum vas
managed by Mr. Anvar Saqib. Some aclivilies vere organized by
lhe lhe usiness Iorum bul on a Iimiled scaIe, focusing more on
sociaI engagemenls. There vas a need lo have a Ialform of lhe
kind olher counlries had eslabIished. AccordingIy, afler
99
considerabIe efforl by CommerciaI CounseIIor Ashraf,
NelherIands-Iakislan Chamber of Commerce and Inveslmenl
(NIICI) vere eslabIished. A Ieading imorler of Iakislani home
lexliIes, }ameeI Ahmad, agreed loserve as ils residenl, and heIed
regisler and Iaunch lhe forum. SohaiI Raza heIed sel u lhe
vebsile vvv.ncci.nI. The ob|eclive vas lo have such a forum
ready for inleraclion amongsl business and governmenl circIes
inleresled indoing business vilhIakislan.
Sharing exerlise
One of our aims vas lo enabIe lhe Dulch lo share vilh Iakislan
some of lhe exerlise lhey have deveIoed in lhe areas vhere lhey
exceI, Iike valer managemenl. Come lo lhink of il, lhis loo has a
sociaI dimension and couId be yel anolher vay of vinning friends
for Iakislan, nol lo menlion a vay lo faciIilale knovIedge
managemenl in areas lhal couId rove very usefuI lo lhe economic
deveIomenl of our counlry. ReIevanl Dulch organizalions vere
mobiIized lo channeI lechnoIogy and lechnicaI caacily lo
Iakislan. The Cenlre for Iromolion of Imorls from DeveIoing
Counlries (CI NelherIands) organized a series of lraining
vorksho in Karachi, IsIamabad, and Lahore for caacily buiIding
of Iakislani exorlers. Three |oinl venlure ro|ecls from Iakislan
vere considered for subsidy under ISI (Irivale Seclor Inilialive).
The NelherIands' IaciIily for Infraslruclure DeveIomenl (ORIO)
exIored ossibiIilies vilhTDAIIsIamabad and Lahore Chamber.
Anumber of senior Dulchexerls visiled Iakislanduring 2010 and
2011 lo assisl Iakislani SMIs under lhe IUM (Senior Ixerls)
rogram.
100
ILAIN organized an Iflaar dinner during Augusl 2010
allended by Dulch dignilaries, diIomalic cors and Iakislani
communily Iadies, lo raise funds for lhe viclims of
2010 fIoods in Iakislan. Dulch donaled generousIy recaIIing hov
Iakislanis had exlended heI vhen ZeeIand vas fIooded in 1953.
Iakislan Ladies Associalion in lhe NelherIands (ILAIN) became
a veIcome venue lo bring Iakislani, Dulch, and friends from
diIomalic cors logelher lo ceIebrale feslivilies
Iike chaandraal and eidraal
Iakislani music Iegend, SohaiI Rana, vas aid a rich lribule by
ILAIN. He Iifled our sirils vilh his insiring nalionaI songs.
ILAIN aIso honoured lhe Oscar vinner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy
for her exlraordinary efforl lo ro|ecl causes in Iakislan
ridaI dress shov couIed vilh olher marriage lradilions,
mehndi, vaIima, and rukhsali, imressed lhe audience vilh
richness of Iakislani cuIlure. The evenl vas Iong remembered in
Dulch sociaI circIes, Selember 2011
MeIa 2010, lhe firsl ever Iakislani feslivaI in lhe NelherIands
allracled lhousands. There vas somelhing for everyone, from
sorls lo cuIluraI hues, deIeclabIe Iakislani cuisine, and music
by famous Iakislani foIk singer Shaukal AIi
MeIa 2011 vas an even bigger success, allracling nearIy len
lhousand. The Hague MuniciaIily co-sonsored il vilh ils
deuly mayor Rabin aIdevsingh offering fuII suorl.
Iamous Iakislani singer Abrar uI Haq enlhraIIed lhe
audience vilh his ouIar numbers
IqbaI Day, ceIebraled annuaIIy, vas aIso lhe venue lo en|oy lhe
richness of Urdu Iileralure and oelry. Iak Dulch NalionaI
Iorum and lhe Imbassy |oinlIy organized lhese evenls
Renovned aulhor, aclor, comere, and inleIIecluaI, Muslansar
Hussain Tarar, eseciaIIy fIev in from Lahore for an evening
vilh lhe Iakislani communily, November 2010
Irofessors Anvar Masood, highIy ouIar for his Iun|abi
humourous oems, and Am|ad IsIam Am|ad, veII knovn vriler
and oel, mel lhe Iakislani-Dulch communily in searale evenls
Trade romolion aclivilies of lhe Imbassy rovided
yel anolher effeclive channeI lo Iink lhe eoIes of
Iakislan and lhe NelherIands
Iakislani mangoes earned ilseIf a seciaI Iace in lhe Dulch
markel for ils exolic lasle. Iakislani commerce minisler
inauguraled one of our annuaI mango exhibilions in 2010
Kinnov, lhe |uicy mandarin from Iakislan,
exhibiled in lhe NelherIands every year from 2009 lo 2011,
earned ils reulalion as a vilaIizer
Iakislani basmali, vorId
famous for ils aroma, Iong
grain, and seciaI fIavor, has
made ils resence feIl in lhe
Dulch markel
Iakislani soccer baII vas a
ouIar brand for visilors lo
lhe rivale IabeI manufaclurers
fair in Amslerdam
Iakislani Diasora
The bridge
Tolhe besl of our eslimales, lhere vere around lhirly five lhousand
Iakislanis Iiving in lhe NelherIands during my lenure here. Mosl
of lhem had acquired Dulch nalionaIily and lheir second
generalion, born and raised here, had slarled lheir rofessionaI
Iives. Mosl of lhem vere sellIed in and around lhe cilies of
Amslerdam, Rollerdam, and The Hague. The buIk of migralion
had laken Iace during lhe sevenlies, vhen lhe Dulch governmenl
oened ils doors lo foreign immigranls lo arliciale in lhe
induslriaI and agricuIluraI grovlhbeing exerienced by lhe Dulch
economy al lhal lime. Mosl of lhe Iakislanis vho had immigraled
here vere eilher semi-skiIIed or unskiIIed vorkers. A Iimiled
number of Iakislanis aIso found osilions in eslabIished
organizalions Iike IhiIis, SheII, KLM, and AN AMRO.
The earIy arrivaIs organized lheir Iives around mosques lhal
heIed lhem reserve lheir reIigious and cuIluraI idenlily. Some of
lhese mosques had been serving lhe communily IileraIIy as
communily cenlers. I underlook visils lo mosl of lhem - AI-karam
and Ghosia mosques inAmslerdam, An|umane Ghausia, Iakislan
IsIamic cenler, and Naushahi mosque in Rollerdam, DarusaIam,
Minha|uI Quran, azm Naushahia, and Moraqba HaI in The
Hague. These reIigious inslilulions had arrangemenls lo leach
Arabic, Urdu and IsIamial, and served as forums for our
communily lo mainlain our nalionaI and IsIamic idenlily. Given
my modesl knovIedge of Arabic and IsIamic sludies I slruck a
cordiaI chord vilh lhem aII, vhich enabIed us lo vork as a leam
vhen ve embarked on raising funds for lhe viclims of lerrorism in
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Sval and MaIakand in2009.
The communily aIso had a fev veIfare organizalions dedicaled lo
romoling lheir veIfare and nalionaI and cuIluraI idenlily. Iak
Dulch NalionaI Iorum (Ied by Navaz Iirdausi, }ameeI Shervani,
I|az Saifi), Iakislan NelherIands WeIfare Sociely (Ied by Chaudhry
Yousuf, Ra|a Iarooq, Chaudhry Zaman), and Iakislan WeIfare
Associalion (Ied by Chaudhry Ieroz, Zeb Khan, Mian KhaIid,
Iervez Ayub) vere based in The Hague. A cuIluraI organizalion,
Samen Saalh (Ied by Saba Sarfraz), vas based in AImere. During
my slay, an organizalion of youlh, Think for Iakislan (Ied by
Aroosa Khan and Tanvier Rafique), vas crealed. Iakislan
MuIlicuIluraI Vereniging (Ied by }ameeI Ahmad, Idrees Ahmad,
Robeena, Rauf Ghauri, Abid Ghaznavi, Ch. Karamal) vas
eslabIished in Amslerdam during 2011 and arranged many
cuIluraI shovs. Some of lhese organizalions focused more on
consuIar issues, vhiIe olhers on cuIluraI rograms. There vere
aIso dealh commillees lo rovide funeraI and buriaI services. The
Imbassy inleracled oflen vilh lhe one Ied by Shamshad ull.
During my slay, I vorked cIoseIy vilh mosl of lhese organizalions
and vas forlunale lo have received ulmosl cooeralion and
suorl from aII of lhem.
Soon afler my arrivaI in earIy 2009, I received lhe deIegalions of
nearIy aII of lhe funclionaI Iakislani organizalions. They aII heId
lhe Imbassy in high esleem and Iooked u lo il for Ieadershi.
They had lheir ovn grievances and suggeslions for imrovemenl,
many of vhich refIecled lheir alriolic desire lo mainlain cIose
Iinks vilh lhe Iand of lheir anceslors. Many of lhem vere vailing
for circumslances in Iakislan lo imrove lo make a reverse
migralion, evenlhoughlheir nexl generalionhad sellIed here fuIIy.
I had lo quickIy sel broad aramelers for my engagemenl vilh lhe
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Iakislani Diasora
communily. I decided on lhree core rinciIes and made lhese
knovn lo every communily Ieader vho visiled my office: firsl, I
vouId receive everyone, ascerlain lheir ideas on hov ve couId
vork logelher lo maximize communily veIfare, bul vouId nol
ermil any one informing me anylhing of or offering any adverse
oinion aboul olher individuaIs or organizalions. Second, I vouId
nol enlerlain any commenls from lhem regarding any of my
redecessors. I remained firm indismissing commenls Iike lhings
vere bad during your redecessors' lime and lhings have become
exceIIenl afler your arrivaI. And lhird, I made il cIear lhal I vouId
nol inleracl vilh anyone on a oIilicaI or seclarian basis. The
Imbassy beIongs lo one and aII, and everyone had a righl lo visil il
and be received vilh resecl. In my meelings, I vouId encourage
my visilors lo come u vilh conslruclive ideas on hov lo imrove
lhe image of lhe communily and lhe counlry in lhe NelherIands,
and lry lo exand lhe focus of discussions beyond rouline consuIar
issues. SIovIy and graduaIIy, lhese lerms of engagemenl look rools
and for lhe resl of my lime, ve successfuIIy mainlained even-
handed friendIiness vilhaII members of our communily.
My firsl riorily vas loimrove consuIar services, since lhe buIk of
lhe comIainls of lhe communily generaIIy arose oul of lhis arl of
our vork. Therefore soon afler my arrivaI, I sal dovn vilh my
coIIeagues al lhe Imbassy lo Ian and imIemenl osilive changes
in lhe vay ve disensed consuIar services. We slarled by
delermining a fev riorilies, vhich my coIIeagues and I foIIoved
lhroughoul my slay. Iirsl, ve resoIved lhal lhe hysicaI amenilies
musl be imroved on a conslanl and consislenl basis: cIean
drinking valer, good Iighling and sealing, reading maleriaI,
holocoy faciIily, and olher such amenilies had lo remain
avaiIabIe and oeralionaI. We aIso removed lhe kilchen from lhe
basemenl solhal consuIar seclionvouId rovide a freshambience.
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Iakislani Diasora
SecondIy and erhas more imorlanlIy, ve delermined lhal lhe
allilude of consuIar slaff shouId be friendIy and cooeralive. RuIes
vere lo be foIIoved slriclIy, bul allilude had lo remain oIile. I vas
hay lo see my slaff, arlicuIarIy Mureed, vho vas veII-versed
in Dulch Ianguage, and mainlained a caIm demeanor. In 2011, ve
embarked uon a ma|or reform of consuIar rocesses lo infuse
grealer efficiency lo consuIar service deIivery. Iirsl Secrelary Tariq
Karim, abIy assisled by Khair Tonio, successfuIIy carried forvard
lhe reform rocess.
Afler necessary changes had been effecled, I made a ubIic
announcemenl lhal every visilor lo lhe consuIar seclion vouId be
lrealed as a VII and no one as a VVII. This meanl lhal everyone
vouId receive equaIIy reseclfuI lrealmenl. No one vas aIIoved lo
enler lhe consuIar seclion, incIuding our slaff, olher lhan lhe
aulhorized ones, and aII services vere lo be exlended lhrough lhe
consuIar vindov. Since ve simIy eradicaled lhe syslem of
referenliaI lrealmenl, sIovIy and graduaIIy ve sloed receiving
sifarish or recommendalions. I ersonaIIy did nol make any
recommendalion for anyone aIlhough my doors remained oen lo
lhe communily lhroughoul my slay. I vanled lo sel an examIe
lhal eoIe couId receive services righl al lhe vindov vilhoul any
discriminalory or favoured lrealmenl loanyone.
This aroach of even-handed disensalion of consuIar services
vorked veII for us. Afler a vhiIe, I sloed receiving any
comIainls regarding favorilism or inefficiency in lhe consuIar
seclion. We aIso insliluled measures lo forecIose lhe ossibiIily of
any corrulion. Receil of cash vas lolaIIy sloed and everyone
had lo use a bank in lo make aymenls. I vouId hoId eriodic
meelings vilh lhe slaff and consuIar officer lo kee lhem
molivaled aboul lhe honesl and even-handed service lhal ve are
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Iakislani Diasora
suose lo render. The Imbassy Iaunched a nev arrangemenl for
coIIecling NADRAcards fee al lhe Imbassy counler, reIacing lhe
cumbersome raclice of lraveI loRollerdam lodeosil fee al Habib
ank. The measure vas mucharecialed.
I have aIvays regarded consuIar seclion as lhe face of lhe Imbassy,
and I feeI hay lhal lhroughoul my slay, ve vere abIe lo make
sure lhal lhe consuIar seclion remained fuIIy equied vilh
quaIily faciIilies for aII visilors, vho vere deaIl vilh a osilive
veIcoming allilude and rendered consuIar services vilhin lhe
bounds of Iav. This loo, in my viev, conlribuled, in no smaII
measure, loboosling Iakislan's image inlhe NelherIands.
Harmony lhroughdiaIogue - ICQMs
In araIIeI lo lhe efforls made in revaming lhe consuIar seclion, I
decided lo evoIve a syslem of cIose inleraclion vilh lhe Iakislani
communily. Amechanism or framevork enabIes grealer delhand
subslance lo such inleraclion. AccordingIy, I decided lo convene
quarlerIy (afler every lhree monlhs) meelings belveen lhe
Imbassy and lhe Iakislani communily lo discuss various
communily issues and brainslorm vays lo vork lhrough lhem.
The firsl such meeling vas heId in lhe Imbassy on 5 Augusl 2009
and vas allended by a reresenlalive grou of communily Ieaders.
I chaired lhe meeling. riefings vere given on consuIar issues,
lrade reIaled mallers, efforls of IIA, and remillances faciIilalion.
The ensuing discussion vas slormy. IeoIe came oul vilh shar
crilicisms of vhalever lhey feIl vas nol good. Some of lhe crilicism
venl vay beyond lhe domains of lhe Imbassy and covered
oIilicaI scenes in Iakislan. ul some usefuI suggeslions aIso
emerged lo address lhe robIems facing lhe communily. As er
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Iakislani Diasora
my oIicy of nol aIIoving any commenl aboul my redecessors, I
did nol robe or argue and onIy Iislened alienlIy. My assessmenl
vas lhal lhe firsl Imbassy Communily QuarlerIy Meeling
(ICQM) vas a sorl of slalemenl by lhe communily lhal lhey
execled lhe Imbassy lo shov beller care. I became convinced lhal
ve musl have such an inleraclion reguIarIy. Some communily
reresenlalives arecialed lhe inilialive and desired lhal I shouId
ersonaIIy conlinue lo sleer lhis diaIogue and coordinalion
belveenlhe Imbassy and lhe Communily.
Wilh lhe second ICQM heId in Oclober 2009 and lhe lhird in
}anuary 2010, inslilulionaIized quarlerIy inleraclion belveen lhe
Imbassy and lhe Iakislani-Dulch communily vere nov firmIy in
Iace. The lone and lenor of lhe meelings slarled changing. We
moved on from lhe confines of consuIar comIainls lo lhe Iarger
iclure lo figure oul aII lhal lhe Imbassy and lhe communily couId
do logelher. Amore osilive agenda slarled laking shae. We aIso
broadened lhe range of invilees lo reach oul lo maximum number
of veIfare organizalions, rominenl communily Ieaders and
businessmen in lhe NelherIands. The sixlh ICQM heId on 26
November 2010, for inslance, rovided an oorlunily lo reviev
rogress made in raising funds for lhe viclims of 2010 fIoods
besides Ianning socio-cuIluraI aclivilies for lhe summer of 2011.
We aIso slarled lhe syslem of inviling rominenl ersonaIilies
visiling NelherIands from Iakislanlo lhese meelings. Al one of lhe
ICQMs, lhe renovned aulhor Muslansar Hussain Tarar |oined us.
Afler lhe subslanlive business of lhe meeling, Mr. Tarar shared
vilh lhe communily Iilerary anecdoles and Iighl laIk. Al anolher
such meeling, Ms Khushbakhl Shu|aal, an educalionisl and
member of nalionaI assembIy of Iakislan, shared her vievs vilh
lhe communily. Ms Khushbakhl aIso visiled us inlhe Imbassy and
vhiIe grealIy arecialing our efforls, encouraged us lo conlinue
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Iakislani Diasora
our aroachlovinfriends for Iakislan.
The eighlh ICQM heId on 22 AriI 2011 revieved key issues of
cuIluraI inleresl lo lhe Communily: Iakislan cuIluraI feslivaI and
Iakislan food feslivaI, bolh heId on 5 }une 2011 al Zuiderark in
Den Haag. The ninlh ICQM focused on consuIar issues vilh a
viev lo furlher imroving our consuIar services, bul lhis lime vilh
lhe arlicialion of a number of IIAlraveI agenls and lhose vho
vere more famiIiar vilh consuIar issues. In lhe lenlh ICQM heId
inNovember 2011, lhe communily Ieaders revieved aclivilies heId
in 2011 and refIecled on hov lo conlinue lhe lradilion of Iakislani
feslivaIs in lhe fulure. y lhis lime, lhe agenda of lhe ICQMs had
increasingIy slarled lo focus on hov lo consoIidale our nalionaI
and cuIluraI idenlily inlhe NelherIands.
One conslanl refrain in my inleraclion vilh lhe communily vas
lhal lhey musl inlegrale veII vilh lhe IocaI ouIalion. Afler aII,
lhis vas lheir adoled homeIand, a home nol by defauIl bul by
choice, and lhal lhey musl lreal il as such. The second arl of my
message vas lhal our youlh musl be encouraged lo arliciale in
communily aclivilies. I vas convinced lhal vilh oIder generalion
aging, lhe balon had lo be assed on lo lhe nexl generalion vho
vouId be caIIed uon lo kee our fIag high in lhis counlry. I
received many deIegalions of sludenls and youlh. Anorganizalion
of Iakislani youlh, Think for Iakislan, Ied by Aroosa Khan, vas
formed vhich look good inilialives. Dulch young rofessionaIs,
Ied by SaImaan Sana, aIso organized a day-Iong Iive slreaming al
Iakislan House of a TID-x conference in Lahore, an evenl vhich
focuses on innovalion and design. The Iak-Dulch NalionaI Iorum
organized every year veII-allended evenls lo ceIebrale Iakislan
Day during vhich il vouId give goId medaI avards lo high
achievers amongsl Iakislani youlh in academics, business, and
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Iakislani Diasora
sorls. In one such evenl, Sa||ad Karim, Member of Iuroean
IarIiamenl, aIsoallended.
I vas aIvays Ieased losee lhal desile many Iimilalions, Iakislani
communily vas aIvays ready lo kee ils nalionaI siril high and
remained ever-ready lo heI feIIov counlry-men and vomen. In
2010, for inslance, lhe Imbassy and lhe communily organized a
monlh-Iong ceIebralion of Iakislan Day in lhe NelherIands: a
soIemn fIag hoisling ceremony al lhe Chancery, lvo grand
recelions in lhe evening al Iakislan House. Around 250 Dulch
dignilaries and members of diIomalic cors allended lhe firsl
recelion vhiIe around 250 members of Iakislani communily
allended lhe second, bolh recelions overIaing for one hour,
Iak Dulch NalionaI Iorum organized lheir annuaI evenl lo mark
Iakislan Day and gave avay avards lo high achievers from lhe
communily, Iakislan NelherIands WeIfare Sociely organized an
evenl vhere some younger members of lhe communily shared
lheir lhoughls, and IakislanWeIfareAssocialionorganized a veII-
allended funclionlomark IakislanDay.
In March 2011, lhe governmenl of Iakislan decided, ay my
recommendalion, lohonour a rominenl Iakislani-DulchLale Mr.
Muhammad Iasih Shamsi vilh Iakislan's civiI avard Tamgha-e-
Khidmal. Since Mrs Shamsi did nol lraveI lo Iakislan lo receive
lhe avard in IsIamabad, I arranged a dignified avard-giving
ceremony al Iakislan House on 7 }uIy 2011 lo mark confermenl of
lhe avard on Lale Mr. Shamsi. Ior decades Mr. Shamsi had made
efforls, in cooeralion vilh lhe Imbassy, lo fosler friendshi
belveen Iakislan and NelherIands lhrough sorls. He heIed
iniliale annuaI lournamenls of hockey and crickel in lhe Iale
eighlies, vhich conlinue lo dale and serve as a bridge belveen
Iakislani communily and Dulchsociely. Afler receiving lhe avard,
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Iakislani Diasora
Mrs. Aliya Shamsi soke in her nalive Dulch, IngIish, and Urdu
Ianguages, exressing her famiIy's rofound gralilude lo lhe
governmenl of Iakislan. Ambassador Tom de ruin of Raad van
Slale aIso aid lribule lo Mr. Shamsi. In my slalemenl I noled lhal
lhe decisionof lhe governmenl of Iakislanloconfer lhis avard vas
nol onIy a befilling lribule lo lhe memory of Mr Shamsi, an honour
for his famiIy, bul aIso a maller of ride for Iakislani-Dulch
communily. This avard enabIed me losend a slrong message lolhe
communily lhal il vas imorlanl lo vork sincereIy and
uncondilionaIIy for lhe counlry and bring some soIid conlribulion
on lhe labIe, and in due course lheir commilmenl and assion
vouId be duIy recognized. In some vays, lhe avard served as an
incenlive for olher communily members lofoIIov suil.
Charily - lhe communily al ils finesl
I vas onIy lvo monlhs in my osl vhen a ma|or crisis enguIfed a
beaulifuI arl of our counlry. Avave of lerrorism slruck Sval and
MaIakand, driving oul miIIions from lheir homes and making
lhem vhal is oflenreferred as lhe inlernaIIy disIaced ersons. The
governmenl Iaunched aninlernalionaI aeaI loraise funds. On19
May 2009, I convened a meeling of lhe communily Ieaders, lhe
ma|orily of vhom I had bareIy slarled lo acquainl vilh. Al my
suggeslion, lhe Iakislani-Dulch communily adoled a ResoIulion
exressing lheir resoIve lo exlend every heI lo lhe disIocaled
ersons inlhe affecled areas. We arranged lhree ma|or fund raising
dinners heId al The Hague (7 }une 2009), Rollerdam (8 }une), and
Amslerdam (18 }une), and aIso made coIIeclions al lhe Ghausia,
Naushahi, & AI-Karam mosques. The communily redeemed ils
Iedge by allending in Iarge numbers lhese fund raisers, and
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Iakislani Diasora
coIIecliveIy raised over one crore fourleen Iac ruees (Iuro 101480
equivaIenl lo US doIIars 141500) lo heI lhe disIocaled eoIe in
lhe MaIakand division.
I vas arlicuIarIy conscious of lhe need for lransarency and
accounlabiIily. I ensured lhal lhe enlire amounl vas channeIed
lhrough onIy one accounl in Habib ank Limiled Rollerdam lo lhe
Irime Minisler Iund eslabIished for lhis urose lo heI lhe
viclims of lerrorism. SeveraI associalions of Iakislani Diasora
and individuaIs deeIy imressed me vilh lheir high siril of
hiIanlhroy and generosily. I vividIy remember lhe 7 }une 2009
fund-raising dinner al Iakislan House. NearIy 550 ersons came
for lhe dinner in our back Iavn. The vealher vas incIemenl, as
lhose vho knov lhe Dulch vealher can veII imagine. We knev
lhal il couId rain al any given momenl, and lherefore needed lenls.
Il vas a Sunday and lenls vere nol avaiIabIe. I vas imressed
vhen a generous Iakislani, Chaudhry Yousuf, voIunlariIy
rovided a huge lenl, big enough lo accommodale over 500
ersons, vhich he had lo renl and bring in from Arnhem, a Iong
dislance from The Hague. Likevise, anolher generous Iakislani,
vho vas aclive in many fieIds of communily vork, Ha|i Rukhsar,
arranged for food for aII invilees. We ended u saving lhe enlire
amounl coIIecled lhal nighl vhich venl slraighl lo lhe designaled
accounl in Habib ank. The Iollery lickels aIso generaled funds. Il
vas inleresling lo see hov lhe ilems rovided in lhe Iollery by
voIunleer donors vouId nol gel Iifled as each lime lhe vinner
vouId ul il back in lhe Iol for anolher round lo generale as much
money as ossibIe. Some of lhese ilems vere auclioned and I sav
voIunleers Iike Ra|a Iarooq urging eoIe lo increase lhe bids vilh
suchenlhusiasm as if il vas lheir ovnersonaI cause. Thal evening
vas a fabuIous nighl, elched inlomy memory as a soIid vindicalion
of lhe alriolic siril lhal our communily has for our counlry.
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Iakislani Diasora
The greal alriolic siril of 7 }une dinner vas reIayed in
Rollerdam lhe very nexl day (8 }une) and len days Ialer in
Amslerdam (18 }une). Arominenl Iakislani Dulch businessman,
MaIik Ghaffar, look charge and heraIded a ma|or efforl lo mobiIize
eoIe vilh suorl from An|umane Ghausia. The end resuIl vas
an equaIIy successfuI fund raising in Rollerdam. In Amslerdam, il
vas Iakislan usiness Iorum, Ied by a suave businessman vilh an
amicabIe ersonaIily, Anvar Saqib, vhich mobiIized lhe business
and olher segmenls of Iakislani communily and exceeded infunds
raised bolh in The Hague and Rollerdam. AII in aII, il vas a Iife-
Iong exerience for me, nol |usl in raising funds for a cause in
Iakislan, bul lo Iive vhal I vouId caII lhe Iakislanial in molion.
The fund raising camaign concIuded on 16 }uIy 2009 vilh a
meeling al my officiaI residence, lhe Iakislan House. The manager
of Habib ank resenled lhe delaiIed slalemenl of accounl. The
funds coIIecled had been remilled lo Iakislan on daiIy basis al no
charge. Ivery day's slalemenl vas aIso emaiIed lo lhe Imbassy for
velling. The Ieading conlribulors and Ieaders of Iakislani-Dulch
communily exressed lheir fuII sense of salisfaclion over lhe
lransarenl manner in vhich lheir conlribulions lo heI lheir
brelhren in need had been handIed. And ve vere so hay vhen
ve sav lhal vilhin monlhs lhe exlremisl assauIl on Sval ended
and aII lhese IDIs relurned lolheir homes.
The foIIoving year (2010), severe fIoods hil Iakislan, drovning
nearIy lvenly ercenl of lhe counlry. Again lhe communily
resonded vilh generosily. ul lhis lime around, our lask became
somevhal difficuIl, oving arliaIIy because lhe vord sread
courlesy some rivale TV channeIs from Iakislan lhal lhe
governmenl vas incaabIe of handIing reIief efforls. WhiIe every
governmenl invariabIy dravs crilicism as lhis is lhe case in aII
democracies, lhe negalive faII-oul for our fund raising camaign
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Iakislani Diasora
vas quile significanl. The communily members vere ready lo
conlribule lo lhis nalionaI cause, bul lhrough rivale, civiI sociely,
or inlernalionaI channeIs ralher lhanlhe governmenl. I musl admil
lhal il lurned oul lo be quile a chaIIenge for me lo convince eoIe
lo come around lo donaling lhrough lhe governmenl. I vouId
argue lhal even rivale donors had lo reIy on lhe governmenl
machinery, eseciaIIy lhe IocaI dislricl or lehsiI IeveI governmenl
officiaIs, for disbursemenl of lhe coIIecled funds lo lhe affecled
eoIe. The vebsile of NalionaI Disasler Managemenl Aulhorily,
vhich delaiIed hov lhe reIief and funds received vas being
disbursed, came in handy lo reslore lhe confidence of our
communily. SIovIy bul sureIy our camaign slarled gaining
momenlum. Some communily members remained skelicaI liII
lhe end, bul a Iarge ma|orily came aIong. And lo my surrise, ve
managed lo raise funds even more lhan vhal ve had raised for
MaIakand. In lvo monlh Iong drive, lhe Iakislani Dulch
communily oured ils hearl oul lo heI lheir brelhren affecled by
lhe devaslaling fIoods in Iakislan. The Amslerdam Sleering
Commillee, The Hague Sleering Commillee, and Iakislan Ladies
Associalion in lhe NelherIands organized charily evenls. Agrou
of young Iakislani-Dulch rofessionaIs, caIIed Think for Iakislan,
arranged an evening lilIed ek sham sohni dharli ke naam lo
mark indeendence day, eid feslivilies, and fund-raising for fIood
affeclees. Live leIecasl vilh renovned |ournaIisl and anchor
ersonTaIal Hussainvas heId.
I ersonaIIy allended aII ma|or fund-raisers for lhe 2010 fIood
viclims. Over one hundred lhousand Iuros vas senl lo Irime
Minisler IIood ReIief Iund vhiIe lhousands more vere senl lo
Iakislan lhrough differenl channeIs - aII as an exression of lhe
soIidarily of Iakislani-Dulch vilh lheir brelhren back home. Our
communily had risen once again lo ils veII deserved high moraI
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Iakislani Diasora
ground. I remember allending a fund-raiser hockey malch
belveen nalionaI hockey leams of Iakislan and HoIIand in
Rollerdam. The vealher vas avfuI and mosl cerlainIy nol suilabIe
for any ouldoor aclivily, Iel aIone a hockey malch. Na|ia and I
drove lhrough sIeel rain lo lhe sladium vondering if lhe malch
vouId lake Iace and vhelher any seclalors vouId shov u. Il
vas 14 Selember 2010, lhe day of our vedding anniversary, and
ve lhoughl il vas lhe mosl unique vay lo ceIebrale our vedding
anniversary. Il so lurned oul lhal lhe vealher roved hindrance,
neilher for us, nor for lhe lvo leams and nor for lhe seclalors. A
Iarge number of eoIe braved lhe vealher and en|oyed lhis ralher
seciaI malch under very hosliIe vealher condilions. Dulch
hockey board, KNH, eseciaIIy ils Iresidenl }an AIbers, vorked
hard for lhis. We raised eighly lhousand Iuros lhal evening aIone
lo heI fIood viclims. Agrou of young Iakislanis, vho Iike lo go
by lhe name of Iak Ialriols, did nol vish lo be Iefl behind, and
organized a charily crickel malch vilh lhe heI of Gemeenle Den
Haag. The goIf lournamenl heId in Selember 2010 aIso raised
some funds for fIood viclims. I organized a fund raising brunch for
lhe viclims of fIoods al Iakislan House on 12lh Selember 2010.
The occasion vas aIso uliIized lo mark lhe Indeendence Day and
Iid MiIan. Over 400 members of lhe Iakislani-Dulch communily
allended lhe evenl. I hoisled lhe nalionaI coIor and a grou of
young chiIdren sang nalionaI songs. AIso resenl on lhe occasion
vas lhe Iakislan nalionaI hockey leam, vhich vas visiling lhe
NelherIands lhose days and drove from a dislanl cily lo
arliciale. Inlry lo lhe evenl vas by lickels and aII roceeds vere
deosiled in lhe Irime Minisler's IIood ReIief Iund. I commended
lhe Iakislani Dulch communily for lheir slrong nalionaI siril lo
raIIy behind nalionaI causes and aIso Iauded lhe Dulch
governmenl and eoIe for lheir generous conlribulions. AII
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Iakislani Diasora
Iakislani mosques in lhe NelherIands raised funds during
Ramadan aIlhough mosl of lhem channeIed lhe funds lhrough
lheir ovnchanneIs lhis lime.
This lime around, lhe eoIe of lhe NelherIands aIso sleed
forvard, Iike lhey had done for viclims of earlhquake in Iakislan's
norlhernareas in2005. Il vas animressive camaignmanaged by
SHO, a consorlium of len NGOs. The eslabIished melhod of 'giro
555' vas foIIoved for lhe camaign (lhis reresenls lhe accounl
number lo vhich aII Dulch eoIe vouId conlribule for a
arlicuIar cause). I gave inlervievs lo lhe media and exlended aII
ossibIe heI lo Dulch organizers lo sread lhe message. AII in aII,
lhe eoIe of NelherIands raised over 27 miIIion Iuros lo heI
viclims of devaslaling fIoods in Iakislan. This vas a remarkabIy
high coIIeclion. I visiled Ulrechl in Iebruary 2011 lo lhank lhe
organizers and aIso discuss vilh lhe reresenlalives of lhe NGOs
vhich had raised funds lhe arrangemenls made lo ensure lhal lhe
funds coIIecled vouId reach lhe fIood viclims in a lransarenl and
accounlabIe manner. The governmenl of lhe NelherIands aIso
conlribuled lo lhis humanilarian cause, biIaleraIIy, lhrough giro
555, and lhrough UN channeIs. During lhe camaign, my vife and
I vere aIso inviled lo ZeaIand rovince vhere Mayor of VIissingen
recaIIed Iakislan heI lo NelherIands fIoods of 1953 and urged aII
lo conlribule lo fIood viclims in Iakislan. ADulch voman, Lonne,
vhose falher Mr. Smil had Iived in Iakislan in lhe fiflies vorking
for IhiIIis lhere, had arranged lhe fund raiser. I vas louched by
lhe lhoughlfuI geslure of my hosls, arlicuIarIy lhe reference lo
1953 so lhal il shouId aear as a kind of recirocily ralher lhan
donalion.
The foIIoving year (2011), lhe soulhern arls of Iakislan
exerienced fIooding due lo exlensive monsoons. We had lo once
126
Iakislani Diasora
again Iaunch an aeaI, bul by lhis lime, due lo lighlening
economic condilions in Iuroe, lhere vas a Iimiled resonse. The
Dulch governmenl resonded and some Iakislani communily
organizalions, eseciaIIy mosques, raised some funds vhich lhey
lransmilled lhrough lheir ovn channeIs lo lhe affecled eoIe.
Iakislan NelherIands WeIfare Sociely organized fund raising
during one of ils evenls and al my requesl deosiled il in lhe
designaled governmenl accounl in Habib ank, earning my
seciaI gralilude.
127
Iakislani Diasora
Reaching oul
Animorlanl arl of my assignmenl vas lo make friendIy conlacls
vilh lhe eoIe of infIuence in lhe NelherIands, lhe oinion
makers and lhe so caIIed movers and shakers of lhe Dulchsociely. I
vouId hoId reguIar meelings vilh senior governmenl officiaIs,
Minislers, and arIiamenlarians lo brief lhem on Iakislan's oIicy
and aroach on issues of muluaI inleresl. I vas encouraged lo
nole lhal lhe Dulch grealIy arecialed lhe osilive roIe Iayed by
Iakislan in lhe gIobaI fighl againsl lerrorism. There vas a slrong
desire al every IeveI lo romole reIalions vilh Iakislan. The
rocess of inslilulionaIized annuaI biIaleraI consuIlalions had
enabIed lhe lvo governmenls lo reviev lhe enlire gamul of
biIaleraI reIalions, and beller undersland each olher's erseclive
on issues vhere ve differed. Mosl of lhe arIiamenlarians evinced
keen inleresl in Iakislani erseclive. Among lhose lhal I mel
incIuded minislers, residenls of lhe lvo chambers of lhe
IarIiamenl, chairersons of foreign reIalions commillee, arly
Ieaders of various arlies, senior governmenl officiaIs in foreign
and economic minislries, Ieading nevsaer edilors, and various
lhink-lanks.
Of lhe lhink-lanks, lhe one lhal ve inleracled mosl cIoseIy vas lhe
NelherIands inslilule for inlernalionaI reIalions, commonIy
knovn by lhe Iace hosling il, CIingendaeI, arlicuIarIy ils
lraining segmenl, named as CIingendaeI Academy. Since 2004,
CIingendaeI vas hoIding every year a six veek lraining course for
our young diIomals. y nov, over one hundred of Iakislani
diIomals had been lrained, or as I vouId oflen say, CIingendaeI
had befriended nearIy one fiflh of our diIomalic service, vho in a
vay are nov friends of lhe NelherIands for Iife, indeed a vise
128
inleIIecluaI inveslmenl by lhe NelherIands. Direclor of
CIingendaeI Academy, Mr Ron Ton, a veII-read and veII-rounded
ersonaIily and a highIy comelenl lrainer, vas lhe moving siril
behind lhe conlinualion of lhis rogram. In 2011, ve lhoughl ve
had reached lhe end of lhe road as ve slruggIed lo find funding for
lhis rogram. Thanks lo lhe slrong commilmenl of Mr Ron Ton,
vho by nov had become a good ersonaI friend loo, and lhrougha
leam vork, ve managed lo renev lhe rogram for anolher lhree
years liII 2014. Among lhinklanks, anolher nolabIe resence vas a
reIaliveIy nev inslilulion, caIIed InlernalionaI cenler for counler-
lerrorism, vhich became a venue for hoIding discussions on issues
of imorlance lo us. A reuled Iakislani sociaI scienlisl, Imliaz
GuI, vouId oflen visil The Hague lo arliciale in lhe aclivilies of
lhe ICCT and olher lhinklanks. Imliaz vas a sound inleIIecl, veII-
versed vilh inlernalionaI oIilics, fIuenl in German, and aIso
Dulch, and il vas aIvays a greal Ieasure inleracling vilh him and
seeing him ro|ecl Iakislan's erseclive. We aIso vorked cIoseIy
vilh Kashmir Cenler HoIIand, Ied by lvo commilled Iakislani
Kashmiris, Zeb Khan and Khava|a Khursheed, lo ro|ecl lhe
Kashmir cause.
The NalionaI Day recelions rovide a usefuI avenue lo ro|ecl
Iakislan. AIlhough considered a rouline aclivily, I found greal
vaIue in lhem rovided, of course, ve so arrange lhem lo gel
maximum goodviII for our counlry. Having resenled my
credenliaIs lo lhe Queen on 4 March 2009, my firsl 23 March
NalionaI Day recelion in lhe NelherIands vas aIso lhe firsl
oorlunily for my ma|or inleraclion vilh lhe Dulch, diIomalic
and Iakislani communilies. Ior lhal year, hovever, ve did nol
receive governmenl funds and as such no formaI recelion vas lo
be heId. I sliII decided lo go ahead vilhvhalever funds I had inmy
aIIovances and heId a recelion al Ieasl for lhe communily
129
Reaching oul
combining il vilh lhe fIag hoisling ceremony al Iakislan House.
ul in subsequenl years, ve vouId hoId lvo grand recelions,
searale bul overIaing for one hour. Around 250 Dulch
dignilaries and members of diIomalic Cors vouId allend lhe
firsl recelion vhiIe around 250 members of Iakislani communily
vouId allend lhe second recelion.
Whal dislinguished our recelion in March 2010 furlher vas lhal a
veII-dressed choir of lhe Urdu Church of HoIIand Rollerdam, Ied
by anaffabIe couIe Rose and Ialher Iric, resenled miIIi naghmas
on lhe sideIines of lhe recelion. This vas nol onIy arecialed by
lhe allendees bul aIso senl a overfuI and symboIic message lhal
in Iakislan, aII communilies, incIuding Chrislians, en|oyed fuII
resecl and righls. Those days some avfuI incidenls had haened
in Iakislan vhere some Chrislians had been largeled. The geslure
of having Iakislani Chrislians resenling nalionaI songs heIed
heaI u lhe grievance, lo some exlenl. We lrealed our guesls lo
lradilionaI Iakislani cuisine and fun food. IIAmanager, Iayaz AIi
Shah, a very kind and amicabIe man, broughl in fresh Iakislani
sveels. In March 2011 recelion, ve arranged a musician
InamuaIIahKhanlo Iay nalionaI lunes onlradilionaI inslrumenls
on lhe side of lhe NalionaI Day recelions. Once again, lhe geslure
nol onIy added coIor and feslivily lo our recelion bul aIso
dislinguished il from aII olher recelions in lhe lovn. Thanks lo
my ovn conlacls, and lhal of Na|ia in lhe Associalion of
Ambassadors Souses, our recelions vere aIvays veII allended.
We vouId lake seciaI care in inlroducing eseciaIIy seIecled
Iakislani food, normaIIy finger food, vhich vouId make our
recelions more allraclive and memorabIe.
Throughoul my slay in lhe NelherIands, ve ceIebraled nol onIy
Iakislan Day every March bul aIso Indeendence Day every
Reaching oul
130
Augusl. Iinding finances for lhis evenl vas an issue. ul ve vere
abIe lo manage lhanks lo good discounls ve used lo gel from
Iakislani calerers, Iike Lasani reslauranl and ils amiabIe manager
Riaz vhocalered food for many of our evenls. Inlhe Indeendence
Day recelion on 14lhAugusl 2009, ve gol lvo deIicious Iarge size
cakes reared in Iakislani fIag coIors (green and vhile), and I
inviled lhe earIiesl mosl Iiving Iakislani immigranl lo |oin me in
culling lhe cakes. The geslure vas inlended lo indicale lhal
Iakislan Imbassy honours lhe conlribulions of our communily
here. The foIIoving year, oving lo Ramadan, ve shifled lhe
Indeendence Day ceIebralions lo Selember and combined il
vilh a fund raising evenl as menlioned earIier. The Iakislan Day
and Indeendence Day recelions aIso rovided a usefuI
oorlunily for me lo address lhe Iakislani-communily, normaIIy
al lhe concIusion of lhe second Recelion, lo udale lhem aboul
various efforls of lhe Imbassy lo romole Iakislan-NelherIands
friendIy lies, share vilh lhem Iakislan governmenl's osilion on
key oIicy issues, and secure lheir suorl for our nalionaI
humanilarian and olher causes. As menlioned earIier, lhe
communily organizalions aIso chied in vilh lheir ovn searale
addilionaI rograms lomark our nalionaI days.
Afler lhe firsl six monlhs of my lenure in lhe NelherIands vere
comIeled, I lhoughl of consoIidaling, and reserving, aII lhal lhe
Imbassy and I had engaged inloromole Iakislan's reIalions vilh
lhe NelherIands and lo enhance Iakislan's image and slanding in
lhis counlry. Asix monlhIy nevsIeller vas a good medium for lhal.
The overaII ob|eclive vas lo ubIicize lhe Imbassy's vork, engage
lhe communily, and lo share lhe informalion vilh key Dulch
conlacls lo enabIe lhem lo beller areciale lhe osilive roIe of lhe
Iakislani communily in lhe NelherIands. My son, Sameer, heIed
me formal lhe firsl nevsIeller (Sameer Ialer heIed me edil lhis
131
Reaching oul
book). AII subsequenl issues of lhe nevsIeller foIIoved lhe same
formal. The subslanlive inuls for aII edilions vere aII drafled and
ediled by me (ve did nol have ress seclion in lhe Imbassy, so I
voIunlariIy coIIecled nevs maleriaI, ediled and roduced lhese
nevsIellers). The mosl difficuIl arl of lhal vas lo coIIecl lhe
maleriaI and organize holograhs. ul vilh a IillIe efforl and
fore-Ianning, I vas abIe lo ensure limeIy coIIeclion of requisile
maleriaI and lhus issue lhe nevsIellers reguIarIy. The dislribulion
Iisl vas exlensive, eseciaIIy in lhe Dulch governmenl, vhich
heIed me sread lhe message of goodviII from Iakislan and
Iakislani communily inaII reaches of DulchoIily.
We aIso revamed our vebsile, and lhanks lo a series of aclivilies
heId, lhe Imbassy sile slarled fiIIing u. We regislered lhe domain
name vvv.akembassy.nI and slarled using il exlensiveIy. An oId
friend from IAI CoIIege Sargodha, SohaiI Raza, vho had been
running an IT business in Rollerdam for years, rovided us fuII
comIemenlary service lo mainlain our vebsile, vhich became a
ma|or source for our oulreach efforls. SohaiI aIso heIed us lo
ugrade lhe sile lo make il inleraclive by roviding consuIar
informalion and forms and onIine regislralion of Iakislanis. There
vere chaIIenges loo. On al Ieasl lvo occasions, lhe Imbassy sile
vas hacked. SohaiI and his leam vere abIe lo relrieve lhe dala,
arliaIIy in one case (obIiging us lo re-vrile facls aboul some of lhe
aIready heId evenls), and relrieve lhe dala fuIIy in lhe olher case.
He Iaced eIeclronic Iocks lo make il difficuIl for hackers lo come
in. ul olher lhan lhese lvo inslances, lhe Imbassy sile funclioned
very veII and served us and lhe communily enormousIy.
Reaching oul
132
Imbassy-Communily meelings heId every quarler since Augusl
2009 lurned oul lo be lhe remier channeI for mainlaining
diaIogue lo address communily issues
Iducalionisl Khushbakhl Shu|aal shared her lhoughls vilh
lhe communily
Al a soIemn ceremony in Iakislan House in 2011, Lale Iasih
Shamsi vas honoured oslhumousIy vilh Tamghae Khidmal for
his services lo romole friendshi lhrough sorls
Hundreds of Iakislanis galhered al Iakislan House lo raise
funds for lhe viclims of lerrorism in Sval in 2009 and fIoods in
2010. The sorling communilies of hockey and crickel loo
conlribuled lo lhe nobIe causes
CeIebraling Iakislan Day in lhe NelherIands: lhe earIiesl
Iakislani immigranl lo lhe NelherIands |oining in lo cul cake,
Iakislani communily singing miIIi naghmas in chorus, and
scores of dignilaries (Iike lhe Iresidenl of IC} shovn in lhe
iclure) allending
Chairman foreign reIalions commillee Henk OrmeI, The Hague
AIderman aIdevsingh, and Direclor CIingendaeI Academy Ron
Ton, aII of vhom have conlribuled lheir imressions lo lhis
book, allending lhe Iakislan day recelions
Iakislan's sofler side on fuII disIay vilh oiI ainlings from
Na|ia Aizaz Ahmad al lhe Asian brushes exhibilion al OICW,
The Hague. Direclor GeneraI Ahmel Uzumcu, vho inauguraled
lhe exhibilion, has aIso conlribuled his imression lo lhis book.
ReguIar nevsIellers and an inleraclive vebsile heIed sread lhe
messages of hoe and friendshi
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IakislanHouse
The Iakislan House rovided an ideaI selling for mosl of our
aclivilies, and deserves a searale delaiIed menlion. Localed in a
resligious arl of The Hague, lhis mansion vas buiIl in 1859 and
refIecled lhe conslruclion slyIe of lhose limes. Il vas urchased by
our firsl Ambassador lo lhe NelherIands, egum Raana Liaqal AIi
Khan, in1954. During lhe Second WorId War, lhe house served as a
Nazi youlh cenler. Legend has il lhal HilIer slayed al lhis house,
bul erhas lolhe dismay of some, lhis is nol facluaI because HilIer
never visiled lhe NelherIands in his Iifelime. The ground fIoor of
lhe House has sacious haIIs, beaulifuI chandeIiers, inlricale vood
vork, eseciaIIy in ils dining room, exquisile fire-Iaces, and
served as a resligious selling for hosling our evenls. The ILAIN
hosled aImosl aII of ils evenls here. Many of lhe communily and
business meelings vere aIsoheId here.
None of our Ambassadors lo lhe NelherIands have ever Iived in
any olher residence during lhe lerm of lheir assignmenl in lhis
counlry. The Imbassy vas eslabIished on 28 Augusl 1950. egum
Ra'ana Liaqual AIi Khan served as lhe firsl Ambassador from 15
Selember 1954 lo 7 }une 1961. She vas foIIoved by anolher iconic
figure, senior civiI servanl, QudraluIIah Shahab from November
1963 lo Selember 1966. Mr. Shahab menlioned lhis house in his
famous book shahabnama, Mr M. A. AIvie served from 1966 lo
1969, Mr. S.M. Hasan from 1969 lo 1971, Mr. R.S. Challari from
AriI 1971 lo March 1972, Mr. }.G. Kharas from 1972 lo 1975, Mr.
S.A. Iasha from 1975 lo 1978. I had never mel any one of lhem as I
|oined lhe service in December 1980. Then came Mr. Sa||ad Hyder,
falher of a coIIeague Tariq Osman Hyder and his sisler Rehana
Hyder bolh of vhom vouId oflen remind us of lhe lime lhey had
141
senl in lhis house. In facl, vhiIe veeding oId fiIes, I found an
arlicIe vrillen by Ruhafza Hyder, lhe molher of Rehana, aboul lhe
Iife in lhe NelherIands in lhose days and lhe Iakislan House. Afler
Sa||ad Hyder (1979-80), came Dr Khurshid Hyder ( 1981-84) and
Riaz Iaracha (1984-86). The Ialler vas Ioreign Secrelary vhen ve
|oined lhe IoreignOffice.
Mr. Shafqal AIi Shaikh came here on 28 Iebruary 1987 and Iefl on
27 November 1989. Il is his name lhal lhe Iakislani communily
here remembers lhe mosl and vilh greal fondness. He had slarled
lhe lradilion of Ambassador hockey and crickel lournamenls,
logelher vilh a roud Iakislani Iasih Shamsi. This lradilion slood
lhe lesl of lime, and during 2009 lo 2011, lhis avenue served me
lremendousIy lo vin friends for Iakislan. We venl on lo gaIvanize
lhis lradilion by adding anolher arm, lhe goIf lournamenl, and
slringing lhem aII inlo lhe brand name of Dosly (friendshi) cus.
Il vas evidenl lo me lhal Ambassador Shafqal had Iefl a dee
imrinl here. He vas foIIoved by Mr. IzharuI Haque from 1989 lo
1992, and lhen by a career diIomal }avaid Hussain from 1992 lo
1995. AdmiraI Saeed M Khan vas lhe nexl vho served for four
years from 1996 lo 2000. AdmiraI Saeed did considerabIe
renovalion of lhe Chancery and Iakislan House. He vas foIIoved
by Mr. Muslafa KamaI Kazi vho Iived here from 2000 lo 2005. Mr.
Sible Yahya Naqvi vas nexl vho served for lvo years from March
2006 lo Iebruary 2008. Mr Naqvi aIso did a commendabIe |ob by
renovaling lhe Iakislan House and aIso kel a good Iiaison vilh
lhe communily. Mr. Arif Ayub, my redecessor, served for a very
Iimiled eriod from May 2008 lo }anuary 2009 as he relired on 8
}anuary 2009.
I vas lhe eighleenlh Ambassador of Iakislan lo lhe NelherIands
vho had lhe riviIege lo occuy lhis beaulifuI roerly, lhe vhile
viIIa on Iein 1813. During my lhree years Ius, ve look u lhe
Iakislan House
142
lask of ugrading lhe House on a seIf-heI basis in order lo Iace
no slrain on governmenl exchequer al a lime of financiaI auslerily.
We goId-ainled lhe ornamenlaI seclions of lhe high roofs (a very
ledious |ob), over-vashed and ainled ouler fence and ils base,
reslored lhe abandoned bul exquisile oId furnilure, and fiIIed lhe
Iavns vilh fIover beds. To beaulify lhe faade, ve ainled lhe
fence, gales, and skirling of lhe House, mosl of il using our ovn
manover, lhus al virluaIIy no cosl lo us. Our coIIeagues Nazir
(gardner), Ishaq (driver) and }ameeI (cook) viIIingIy heIed lo
mainlain and conslanlIy imrove lhe roerly vilh lremendous
suorl from our very efficienl accounlanl, Mr. Imran, as veII as
Mr. Shuaib, vho had been vorking in lhe Imbassy since 1976 and
vas aninslilulionaI memory of lhe House.
The Iakislan House has seven lrees regarded by lhe MuniciaIily
as monumenlaI. These incIude a Norvegian maIe, a veeing
beech, four red beech lrees, and a summer oak, four of lhem
Ianled in lhe year 1900 and lhe olher lhree in 1910. These are
beaulifuI and eIeganl lrees and befillingIy adorn lhe house. One of
lhe lrees vas Iosing Iife. We decided lo lake care of lhem and
slarled Iooking afler lhem vilh exerl advice from lhe
municiaIily of The Hague.
143
Iakislan House

My years in lhe NelherIands (2009 lo 2011) vere marked by
chaIIenging limes for Iakislan as veII as lhe NelherIands. Iakislan
vas suffering from lhe serious faII oul of lhe var againsl lerrorism,
vhiIe lhe NelherIands vas exeriencing a sleady rise of anli-
MusIim and anli-immigranl senlimenl. I reckoned lhal nolhing on
my agenda vas more urgenl and imorlanl al lhal lime lhan lo
mainlainlhe good image of our counlry. I lhoughl il vas imorlanl
lhal lhere vere no misgivings aboul Iakislan and our communily
in lhe NelherIands, eseciaIIy in a lime vhen far righl oIilicians
vere gaining ground. Our slralegy lo exlensiveIy engage in sorls
and cuIluraI aclivilies vas inlended lomainlaina osilive image of
Iakislan during lhese lroubIed limes. The image-buiIding
endeavors aIso faciIilaled biIaleraI lrade. And mosl imorlanlIy,
ve managed lo kee our youlh from gelling embroiIed in lhe
rovocalions of lhe far righl eIemenls in Dulch oIilicaI Iandscae.
I am gIad lhal our slralegy vorked. I musl say lhal ve vere aIso
forlunale in some vays. Thal oinl in lime coincided veII vilh a
groving inleresl on lhe arl of lhe Dulch governmenl lo deveIo
ils reIalions vilh Iakislan. The firsl ever annuaI biIaleraI
consuIlalions belveen lhe lvo governmenls look Iace in The
Hague in 2010, foIIoved by anolher round in IsIamabad in 2011,
lhus inslilulionaIizing lhe diaIogue rocess. Our communily aIso
cooeraled very veII and served as a soIid bridge belveen
Iakislanand lhe NelherIands.
These lhree vonderfuI years have rekindIed my failh in lhe
grealness of our eoIe. The vay lhe communily came forvard in
conlribuling for lhe viclims of lerrorism in MaIakand and Ialer of
144
2010 fIoods vas a arlicuIarIy moving exerience for me and I vas
grealIy imressed by lhe communily's siril of alriolism. AII lhal
vas needed vas a degree of lrusl lhal our Ieadershi musl reose
in lhem. And lhey vouId rise againsl aII odds. I vas aIvays
convinced lhal every Iakislani is a kind of ambassador for our
counlry. Il sounds Iike a cIiche, bul il is a reaIily borne oul of my
ersonaI exerience (nol onIy here bul aIso before in al Ieasl lvo of
my oslings vhere I deaIl vilh lhe communily, Washinglon and
Doha). In lheir everyday Iife, lhe Dulch rareIy focus on Iakislan,
and underslandabIy so. They vouId form lheir oinions aboul
Iakislan based on lheir inleraclion vilh lhe Iakislanis in lhe
NelherIands. Seen in lhis conlexl, every Iakislani Iiving in lhe
NelherIands aulomalicaIIy becomes a arl of lhe image buiIding
rocess. Il vas lhis vision lhal guided mosl of our inilialives,
eseciaIIy sorls diIomacy. ul sorl aIone is nol enough.
CuIluraI oulreach is equaIIy imorlanl. The evenls by lhe Iadies
associalion (ILAIN), annuaI MeIa (feslivaI), and Iilerary
galherings, aII heIed lo sread lhe message, a message of hoe,
osilivily, and friendshi. Wilhin a year, I slarled receiving
encouraging feedback, vhich remained lhe case lhroughoul my
slay. Al every IeveI of my inleraclion vilh lhe Dulch oIily, I vas
hearlened lo see osilive refIeclions aboul Iakislani communily in
lhe NelherIands, and by lhal exlension, aboul Iakislan ilseIf. My
exerience reinforced my failh in lhe vaIidily and reIevance of lhe
inslruclions lhal our governmenls send us from lime lo lime: lo
serve Iakislani communily and lo mobiIize lheir energies for lhe
bellermenl of our counlry.
To end, I musl refer lo a singuIarIy imorlanl source of guidance
for me, lhe vise vords from lhe founder of Iakislan, Quaid-e-
Azam. These vords, vhich I gol imrinled in a roII-u banner lhal
veIcomed aII vho enlered our Imbassy's conference haII, caIIed
145
uon us lo .serve vilh honour, inlegrily, |uslice, and fair-
Iay...
Pakistan zindabaad,
Lnng !ivc Pakistan-Ncdcr!and Iricndschap.
146
Ind Noles
i The Lov Counlries, Irinled by Die Keure, ruges, IIanders,
eIgium, IubIished by lhe IIemish-NelherIands Associalion,
ArlicIe by Luc DevoIdere lilIed Mirrors, Windovs,
RefIeclions, age 11
ii hll://vvv.nelherIandsmission.org/arlicIe.asàrlicIeref
AR00000132IN&calegoryvaIuenelherIands&subcalegoryv
aIueslalislics
iii Women have reigned in lhe NelherIands since 1890 vhen
Queen WiIheImina inheriled lhe lhrone al lhe age of 10. She
heIed her counlry remain neulraI during WorId War I. The
Nazis invaded lhe NelherIands in1940 and lhe Queenescaed
lo IngIand from vhere she broughl hoe lo lhe occuied
nalionlhroughradio broadcasls. The Queenrelurned home in
1945, lhree years Ialer abdicaled in favour of her eIdesl
daughler, }uIiana, vho reigned unliI 1980, vhen ealrix look
over.
iv The Hague is referred lo as Den Haag by lhe cily governmenl,
hisloricaIIy aIso caIIed 's-Gravenhage or lhe Counl's voods
or hedge. The cily originaled around 1230 vhen lhe lhen
Counl of HoIIand buiIl here his hunling residence. Since lhe
13lhcenlury, lhe counls of HoIIand slarled using The Hague as
lheir adminislralive cenler and residence. The oIdesl buiIding
in lovn, RidderzaaI or Knighls HaII, dales back lo mid
lhirleenlh cenlury and is sliII used for annuaI seech of lhe
Queen from lhe lhrone. I had lhe Ieasure lo allend lhree of
suchevenls.
v hll://vvv.nelherIandsmission.org/arlicIe.asàrlicIerefAR
147
00000132IN&calegoryvaIuenelherIands&subcalegoryvaIue
slalislics
vi Here's HoIIand, a ubIicalion of lhe Dulch Minislry of
IconomicAffairs, November 2009, age 56.
vii The Kingdom of lhe NelherIands has a unique arrangemenl:
Amslerdam is lhe cailaI, bul seal of governmenl is in The
Hague.
viii Here's HoIIand, age 25
ix hll://vvv.nelherIandsmission.org/arlicIe.asàrlicIerefAR
00000132IN&calegoryvaIuenelherIands&subcalegoryvaIue
slalislics
x . Make lhe eoIe feeI lhal you are lheir servanls and friends,
mainlain lhe highesl slandard of honour, inlegrily, |uslice and
fair-Iay. If you do lhal, eoIe viII have confidence and lrusl
in you and viII Iook uon you as friends and veII vishers..
you musl do your besl vilh aII courlesy and kindness and lry
lo undersland lhe eoIe..Quaid-e- Azam's Address lo lhe
Gazelled Officers, Chillagong, 25 March1948
xi Al lhe end of lhe monlh of fasling, lhe moon (chaand) is
sighled, and lhen slarls a nighl (raal) Iong feslivily, caIIed
chaandraal loveIcome IiduIfilr, a day of |oy and ceIebralion.
148
Ind Noles
Iakislan mirrored lo Dulch eyes
Winning friends for Iakislan in lhe NelherIands, a counlry
of dynamic and induslrious eoIe, lurned oul lo be one of
lhe mosl Ieasanl and fuIfiIIing exeriences of my career. In
2009, I embarked ona mission, vilhlhe suorl of my Dulch
friends and lhe Iakislani-Dulch communily, lo romole lhe
sofl image of Iakislan in lhe NelherIands and bring lhe lvo
counlries cIoser. y lhe end of 2011, ve had successfuIIy
organized a vide range of socio-cuIluraI aclivilies, as arl of
lhe broader vision of romoling underslanding and
harmony belveen lhe eoIes of lhe lvo counlries and
mirroring Iakislan lo Dulch eyes. This book is a slory of
lhal endeavor.
Schetenlngen beuch,
olI on cuntus,
b Nu]lu Alzuz Ahmud

Pakistan Mirrored To Dutch Eyes

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