LONDON: As the newly elected representatives of the British Parliament were sworn in, a Pakistani-origin MP took his oath in Urdu.

Afzal Khan, who retained his seat for the Labour Party from Manchester Gorton in the general election, hailed on Twitter the diversity in parliament and said: “Thrilled to be back in #Parliament as an MP for #Manchester. I am proud to represent a city where over 200 languages are spoken.”

He added: “Today at the swearing-in ceremony, I recited my oath in #Urdu to honour my father who served in the British Indian Army.”

In parliament, he took the following oath in Urdu: “I, Afzal Khan, do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to the law.”

Khan was elected as the Labour MP from the same constituency in 2017. One month after being elected, Khan was appointed as Labour’s shadow immigration minister.

Born in Pakistan, he moved to the UK at age 11 and worked as a labourer in a cotton mill, a bus driver and a police officer before he qualified as a solicitor and became a partner at a law firm. He became the first Asian mayor of Manchester.

In 2008, Khan was awarded CBE for his work on community cohesion, interfaith harmony and local government. Last year, former president Mamnoon Hussain awarded him the Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam.

His move to read the oath in Urdu was welcomed by supporters on Twitter, with one of them saying he feels proud that the MP hails from Jhelum.

In a 2005 interview with The Guardian, Khan said: “I lived in a small place in Jhelum and was ahead of my age in school when my uncle adopted me. Together with my family I came to the UK and we settled in Brierfield in Lancashire. I went straight to secondary....”

He left school at 16 and went on to work as a labourer. In 2016, a Pakistani-origin MP Humza Yousaf made headlines when he delivered his oath to the Scottish Parliament in Urdu.

Six hundred and fifty MPs returned to parliament on Tuesday to begin the swearing in process, which usually continues for two to three days.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2019