- Saturday, July 27, 2024
‘He is the one prime minister who has visited Pakistan in adverse circumstances and risked his political capital,’ Sajid Tarar said about the Indian PM.
By: Shubham Ghosh
A PROMINENT Pakistani-American businessman has lauded Indian prime minister Narendra Modi as a strong leader who has taken his country to new heights and predicted that he will clinch his third term in this year’s general elections.
Sajid Tarar, who is based in Baltimore, also said that Modi is not only good for India but for the region and the world and hoped that Pakistan also gets a leader like him. He also called the Indian PM a “natural-born leader”.
“Modi is a remarkable leader. He’s a natural-born leader. He is the one prime minister who has visited Pakistan in adverse circumstances and risked his political capital. I’m expecting that Modi ji will start dialogue and trade with Pakistan,” Tarar told news agency Press Trust of India.
“A peaceful Pakistan is good for India as well. It is written everywhere that Modi ji will be the next prime minister of India,” Tarar said in response to a question.
Tarar, who had moved to the US in the 1990s, is well-connected with the ruling Pakistani establishment.
“It is nothing but a miracle that 97 crore people in India are exercising their franchise. India is the biggest and largest democracy. I’m seeing the popularity of Modi ji up there and the rise of India in 2024 is amazing. It’s a story to be told. You will see it in the future that people will learn from Indian democracy,” Tarar said.
Responding to a question, Tarar said Pakistan is going through an economic crisis that has resulted in social unrest in many parts of the country including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
“Pakistan is going through an economic crisis. Inflation is high. Petrol prices are high. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) wants to increase taxes. Electricity costs have gone up. We are not able to export,” he said.
The protest in PoK is mainly due to the increase in electricity bills, he said.
He also questioned the decision of the Pakistani prime minister to give financial aid to the people of PoK.
“Where is the money going to come from? It’s discussing a new aid package from the IMF. Pakistan is going through a financial crisis,” he said.
“Regrettably, there is no effort to resolve the grassroots issues. How to increase exports. How to bring terrorism under control, and improve law and order. Currently, there is unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), and there is political instability. We wish that we get some leadership who can take us to the next level away from all these issues,” Tarar said.
Pakistan also saw a new government taking charge in March led by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif following a chaotic election in February.
India, he said, is benefiting from its young demographic.
Last year, Tarar had praised Modi’s state visit to the US saying India was winning on every single front and the world needed to learn from it.
India is winning on every single front and the world needs to learn from this, an eminent Pakistani American businessman has said while lamenting that the political and economic situation back home was “sad and dire”.
Known to be a supporter of former US president Donald Trump and founder of American Muslims for Trump, he had predicted that Modi’s US visit would prove to be a landmark one and saying the opportunity to address the US Congress, which the Indian prime minister did for the second time during his visit after 2016, was a big honour for any world leader.
(With PTI inputs)
