US Grants Citizenship to 18,000 Pakistanis

Staff Report

Masood Khan urges APPNA to explore health tourism; and invest in IT
• 18,000 Pakistanis got US citizenship this year: Pak Ambassador
• Palestinians’ right to self-determination should be recognized: Masood Khan

Chicago: The United States (US) granted citizenship to 18,000 Pakistanis this year.

Highlighting the important contribution being made by the Pakistani diaspora especially physicians in the US society, the Ambassador told the audience that 18,000 Pakistanis became American citizens this year— the majority of them doctors and physicians.

“The solution for Palestine is written large on the wall. There should be an immediate ceasefire. The humanitarian assistance should be resumed instantaneously. It should not be one corridor; it should not be one pier.

There should be multiple corridors. Palestinians’ right to self-determination should be recognized,” said Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador Masood Khan made these remarks addressing the Spring meeting of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA)—the largest association of Pakistani diaspora who have been flying the flag of Pakistan in the United States, Canada, and around the world.

Congressman Jamaal Bowman and Congresswoman Delia Remirez addressed the gathering.

Addressing a jam-packed hall of over 570 attendees comprising Pakistani American physicians, healthcare professionals, community leaders, and other dignitaries, Masood Khan paid a glowing tribute to the services of APPNA for presenting a bright face of Pakistan and its people with their service to the humanity.

The Ambassador thanked President APPNA Asif Mohiuddin and Chair Spring Meeting 2024 Sajid Mehmood, for providing him with an opportunity to attend and speak at an August gathering.

U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district Ilhan Omar in her video message paid tribute to Pakistani physicians of APPNA for dedicating their lives to medical education and community service. “I am forever grateful for how you all show up to make sure our communities are taken care of,” she observed.

He highlighted that Pakistan and the United States had two rounds of high-level health dialogue wherein the sides have taken momentous decisions to promote bilateral cooperation in healthcare.

“We have requested the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help us establish a CDC in Pakistan for disease surveillance,” stated the Ambassador. “We have also decided to invest our time, energy, and resources in non-communicable diseases and prevention of child and maternal mortality,” he added.

Highlighting significant investments being made by Pakistani-American doctors back home in telemedicine, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical transcription billing and other subsectors of healthcare, Masood Khan urged the doctors community to scale up their investments in Pakistan.

“We can also experiment with the idea of health tourism on the model of Turkey,” said the Ambassador.

“Another area in which you can invest and some of you are investing already is IT,” he added.

Masood Khan highlighted that the country has 192 million mobile phone users with 135 million broadband subscribers. This he said was a huge opportunity to capitalize on IT investments.

“Pakistan is the most cost-effective country as far as IT is concerned,” stated the Ambassador.

“Do invest in Pakistan, do have confidence in Pakistan,” urged the Ambassador. He reiterated that the Pakistani diaspora in the United States, especially doctors, engineers, and other professionals was the most abiding link in the Pak-US equation.

“It is a very resilient bond and we are proud of it. This is an asset for Pakistan and for the United States,” he observed.

Earlier, the Ambassador also interacted with the Pakistani community at the residence of the Consul General of Pakistan in Chicago. The attendees included business leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals, and community leaders.

Addressing the gathering the Ambassador highlighted huge investment opportunities existing in Pakistan especially in IT, agriculture, renewable energy and extractives industries.

He highlighted the critical role that was being played by Special Investment Facilitation Council in facilitating investments, removing hurdles and ensuring that the business community is provided with a congenial environment to undertake profitable business ventures in Pakistan.

“Pakistan is poised to become a tech hub in the region,” said the Ambassador.

He highlighted the young and talented human capital of the country and the exponential growth in the tech industry during the past few years that have created ideal conditions for scaling up investments and reap dividends of a huge market of the region.