Farewell luncheon for Canadian envoy

When Perry John Calderwood took up his post in Islamabad well over two years ago, he said: “As Canadian high commissioner to Pakistan, I look forward to strengthen further the relationship between our two countries.”

Upon the completion of his term over the weekend, he confirmed that trade had indeed gone up, that there are more Pakistani students going to Canada, and that both official and people-to-people contact had gone up. He also noted that there is a sizeable community of Canadians of Pakistani origin in Canada.

“Canadian companies have expertise and experience in fields such as energy, agro-food industry, information and communication technology, mining, and other fields of importance to Pakistan,” he said.

Mr Calderwood spoke at a luncheon hosted by the dean of the diplomatic corps, Ambassador Atajan Movlamov of Turkmenistan, for fellow envoys and heads of UN organisations in Pakistan.

“I have indeed enjoyed my time in Pakistan,” the outgoing Canadian envoy said.

“After spending some time in Ottawa, I hope that my next posting will be closer by. My father is getting old and I want to visit home more often,” he said.

At the same event, the dean of the diplomatic corps introduced the new Norwegian Ambassador Kjell-Gunnar Eriksen to his fellow envoys.

Dinner for defence attaches

The Czech Republic’s new defence attaché to Pakistan and Afghanistan Col Petr Uzsak hosted a dinner reception for other defence attaches, spouses and civilian friends.

The dean of the defence attaches in Pakistan, Col. Mehmau Nevruzov from Azerbaijan attended the event.

In his welcome speech, Petr Uzsak gave a short introduction of himself since many would not him as he had arrived just a few months ago.

A guest said that he appreciated that the new defence attaché was following in his predecessor Col Miroslav Kaspar’s footsteps, who was known for holding large gatherings for the defence attaché community.

Col Petr Uzsak said that he had joined the military at the age of 14, first as a secondary school student, and later he had undertaken training in engineering and military subjects.

He said that now fter over 30 years in ordinary military service, he was glad to have been posted at a diplomat mission abroad.

He added that he had already established himself well in Pakistan’s capital. “I knew a little about Islamabad before I came, but it has certainly exceeded my expectations. I hope to bring my sons, 17 and 11, for a visit so we can go hiking and explore the land,” he said.

Independence Day of Afghanistan celebrated

Ambassador Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal held an event in connection with Afghanistan’s Independence Day at the Pak-China Friendship Centre. The chief guest was Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri.

“True, we had waited for the event, but when it first was held, it became a unique event,” said a Pakistani guest.

“The Afghan Independence Day falls on 19 August, but for practical reasons the celebrations had been delayed. The day is celebrated in commemoration of the 1919 Anglo-Afghan treaty of total neutrality between Afghanistan and Britain,” explained a young Afghan diplomat. Like so many Afghans, he had earlier been a refugee in Pakistan.

The main attraction of the evening was the concert by Afghanistan’s first female orchestra, Zohra.

“The performance was fantastic,” said a young diplomat couple from Brazil. “We were indeed impressed and we are glad that there is now an Afghan National Institute of Music, for both men and women,” they said.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2018