King Charles wants to visit Pakistan, says industrialist Mian Mansha

LONDON: Leading Pakistani industrialist Mian Mohammad Mansha said King Charles III of Great Britain wants to visit Pakistan and “holds very positive views about the country.”

Mansha and Naz Saigol met the king and Queen Camilla at a reception at St James's Palace in advance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and discussed Pakistan-related matters, including the launch of Pakistan Employment Impact Bond by the King’s charity the British Asian Trust.

Speaking to Geo News after the meeting, Mian Mansha said: “I had a very good meeting with The King. I have met him before as well. I met The King in my capacity as the head of the British Asian Trust Pakistan chapter. The King always talks about Pakistan in a very positive and welcoming way.”

“The King told me that he wants to visit Pakistan and he will. He told me that he spoke to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently. It was a very cordial meeting. Whenever I meet him he speaks highly of Pakistan.”

Mian Mansha also said: “The Royal Family has a very good view on Pakistan. Since Pakistan’s independence, the Royal family has been very supportive of Pakistan. They are also aware of the problems that Pakistan is facing.”

The industrialist said that following the meeting with the king, a meeting of British Asian Trust was held which was attended by Lord Zameer Choudhry, Asif Rangoonwala, Pakistani diplomat Fahad Saleem and others to discuss the launch of Pakistan Employment Impact Bond.

“We discussed the issues of education and women empowerment. We also discussed that the British Asian Trust has a better chance of success with the Punjab Government,” he said.

Mansha further said: “The British Asian Trust has already given huge grants to Pakistan. We also discussed the other provinces of Pakistan but they said that they have a better chance of success with the Punjab Government. Their representative will visit Pakistan and we will hold discussions.”

“We will also request that the local British Pakistanis help in the launch. The British Asian Trust has done such previous projects in India and they are very keen to do it in Pakistan.”

He said that a country like Pakistan can progress only when its female population can get involved in the economy and “we have made some strides in the recent past”.

“A lot of universities are catering for women in Pakistan and I have recently visited universities in the rural areas of Faisalabad where I gave degrees to the students and 35% of them were women who came from rural and poor backgrounds.”

“When I asked what their work plans were, some of them told me that they were working for Microsoft. The world has moved ahead quite a lot, many people have moved overseas to find jobs and in a way that is good as they send remittances back to Pakistan but the fact is we need to create jobs in Pakistan and the British Asian Trust is helping us in achieving that,” he concluded.