Dear Respected Community Members,

On September 22nd, 2006 in an interview aired on CTV, Honourable MP and Defense Critic, Ujjal Dosanjh stated that ‘Pakistan was harbouring terrorists.’ An unfounded statement of this nature coming from a respected elected official, in any context, is wrong. As Pakistani-Canadians it is our duty to defend the integrity of Canada and Pakistan. This comment, from a Pakistani point of view, demonstrated a blatant disregard for the sacrifices made by Pakistan and its Armed Forces in the fight against terror.

As an association it was our duty to hold Mr. Dosanjh accountable for his words and to arrange a meeting with him and the Pakistani community where a discussion could take place and answers found. An apology for what are indeed unfounded comments was expected at this meeting but Mr. Dosanjh refused to meet with the greater community on any level except for a closed door meeting with a few representatives. Having refused this offer to meet with Mr. Dosanjh under these circumstances Mr. Dosanjh chose to appear on Radio India on October 8th from 8 am to 10 am for an interview on this topic. PCA having not been officially invited to attend this interview did not take part; instead an informal meeting between representatives of PCA and PCCA took place to discuss how to approach this situation. It was agreed that General Secretaries from both organizations, Mr. Tarik Kiani and Mr. Tanveer Chaudhry respectively, would call in to question Mr. Dosanjh. After much debate Mr. Dosanjh concluded the interview with an apology to the Pakistani community for his comments.

We would like to thank Mr. Dosanjh for his apology and for addressing an issue that struck the sensitivities of all Pakistanis. We would like to also thank the Pakistani Canadian Cultural Association of BC for standing with us and taking a joint stand on this issue. As Pakistanis we must never be afraid to stand up for what we believe and we must take advantage of the political system we are so fortunate to enjoy in Canada.

Sincerely,

Raza Mirani
President
Pakistan-Canada Association