Dozen British Pakistanis Elected to UK Parliament in Elections 2017

Twelve British Pakistanis, including 5 women, have been elected members of parliament (MPs) in recent elections held in the United Kingdom, according to media reports.  Seven of them are members of the Labor Party and three belong to the Conservative Party. This sets a new record with the increase of two MPs from the May 2012 elections that resulted in the election of 10 MPs of Pakistani origin. British Pakistanis make up 1.8% of the British population, about the same as their representation in the House of Commons.

Six of the Twelve British-Pakistani MPs

British Pakistani MPs and Peers:

In addition to the 12 British Pakistanis in the House of Commons, there are 8 members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament, bringing the total strength of British Pakistanis in the UK parliament to 20. Most of them are from very humble backgrounds in rural Pakistan. Majority of Pakistanis in the UK are from Mirpur and its surrounding villages in Azad Kashmir. They or their parents migrated to Britain when they were given compensation by Pakistani government for their land to make way for the building of the massive Mangla Dam after the signing of the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan in 1960. Five of the twelve British Pakistani MPs in the new parliament are from Azad Kashmir. 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan:

Last year saw the election of Sadiq Khan as mayor of London, making him the first Muslim mayor of a major western capital city. Mayor Sadiq Khan is also of Pakistani-origin. Khan's father migrated to Britain in 1960s and worked as a London bus driver. Khan comes from a family of two generations of immigrants: His grandparents migrated from what is now India to the newly created state of Pakistan in 1947 and his parents migrated from Karachi to London in 1969. Sadiq Khan was born in London in 1970.

British Pakistanis' Struggles:

While the British Pakistanis have made some headway in the public sector in their new home, they continue to face discrimination, particularly in the private sector.  A 2016 study by the government’s Social Mobility Commission found that the "children of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin in Britain have outperformed other ethnic groups to achieve rapid improvements at every level of education, but are significantly less likely to be employed in managerial or professional jobs than their white counterparts".

The study said that the "minority ethnic pupils (including Pakistanis) are outperforming white working class children in English tests throughout school, with white British teenagers coming bottom of the pile in the subject at GCSE level".

British Pakistani Doctors: 

Pakistan is the second largest source of doctors of foreign origin serving in the United Kingdom, according to OECD. Indians make up 34% of the foreign doctors in Britain, followed by 11% from Pakistan.

Summary:

British Pakistanis have achieved significant success in spite of their humble origins and discrimination they face in their adopted home. 12 of them serve as members of the House of Commons and 8 in the House of Lords. Mayor Sadiq Khan of London, the first Muslim leader of a major western capital, is the son of a London bus driver who migrated from Pakistan. British Pakistani children are outperforming their white working class peers in schools. British Pakistani doctors are the second largest population of doctors of foreign origin in the United Kingdom.  The British Pakistanis are among the best of the Pakistani diaspora, or any diaspora, in the world.

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Comment by Riaz Haq on March 27, 2023 at 7:06pm

Humza Yousaf promises independence: What can new SNP leader deliver?

https://news.sky.com/story/humza-yousaf-promises-independence-what-...

Humza Yousaf made a few big promises as he succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader - including healing divisions in his party, redoubling efforts to lift people out of poverty and, of course, Scottish independence.

On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood is joined by our Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies and Shona Craven, columnist at The National, as we look at what we can expect from his leadership and discuss how he will measure up against his predecessors.

-------------


ArainGang
@ArainGang
Scotland led by Pakistani Minister Humza Yousaf, will seek independence from the United Kingdom, which is led by Indian Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The Subcontinent Strikes Back

https://twitter.com/ArainGang/status/1640430192006139906?s=20

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 2, 2023 at 4:36pm

This week marks a watershed moment in a decade of discussion of “grooming gangs”: a much-anticipated Home Office report has concluded that there is no credible evidence that any one ethnic group is over-represented in cases of child sexual exploitation.

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/19/home-office-r...

For many in Britain today the term “grooming gang” immediately suggests Pakistani-heritage Muslim men abusing white girls, but the Home Office researchers now tell us that “research has found that group-based offenders are most commonly White”.


A powerful modern racial myth has been exploded. What started as a far-right trope had migrated into the mainstream, meeting little resistance along the way. In 2011, the Times and its chief investigative reporter, Andrew Norfolk, claimed to have uncovered a new ethnic crime threat, shrouded until then in a supposed “conspiracy of silence”.

The racial stereotype gained credence when the Quilliam Foundation, a controversial “counter-extremism” group, claimed that 84% of “grooming gang offenders” were Asian.

The “grooming gangs” narrative fed into the agenda of the far right, but it was not only there that the issue was racialised: the Labour MP Sarah Champion, for one, wrote a now notorious article in the Sun in 2017, for which she resigned as shadow equalities minister.

The two-year study by the Home Office makes very clear that there are no grounds for asserting that Muslim or Pakistani-heritage men are disproportionately engaged in such crimes, and, citing our research, it confirmed the unreliability of the Quilliam claim.



The horrific and widely reported crimes committed in places such as Rochdale, Oxford and Telford were real: but racist stereotyping and demonisation deflected from that.


The claims that “grooming gangs” were not properly investigated due to “political correctness” and a fear of being accused of racism are heavily undermined by decades of research highlighting the consistent over-policing of minority communities. What’s more, the whole history of the UK’s responses to child sexual exploitation and abuse is littered with failings – as shown by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, Operation Yewtree and numerous other investigations and inquiries. There were also regrettable consequences for child protection, since victims and offenders who don’t fit the stereotype can be overlooked.




This misdirected focus can be found in the Home Office report itself. Its title and executive summary both imply it covers “group-based child sexual exploitation” in the whole. But it fails to include a whole range of problems that might reasonably fit into that category, such as abuse that occurs online, and in schools, care homes and other institutions. Instead, it follows the crowd by dwelling on child sexual exploitation “in the community”. This construct is vaguely defined and poorly justified, although certainly more acceptable sounding than “grooming gangs” – the broadly equivalent term that has no legal meaning but plenty of racial and political baggage.



It might be tempting to think that, if nothing else, a decade of outrage had stimulated wider concern about child sexual exploitation. In truth, it has diverted resources and effort into wasteful paths while opportunities to address systemic barriers to prevention and improve victim support have been missed.



The claims that “grooming gangs” were not properly investigated due to “political correctness” and a fear of being accused of racism are heavily undermined by decades of research highlighting the consistent over-policing of minority communities. What’s more, the whole history of the UK’s responses to child sexual exploitation and abuse is littered with failings – as shown by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, Operation Yewtree and numerous other investigations and inquiries. There were also regrettable consequences for child protection, since victims and offenders who don’t fit the stereotype can be overlooked.

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 2, 2023 at 4:37pm

Home Secretary accused of 'parroting far-right myths' about British Pakistani men | The National

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23429688.home-secretary-accused-p...

Braverman’s language was condemned by Robina Qureshi, CEO of the refugee charity Positive Action in Housing (PAiH).

She called on the Home Secretary to apologise for her “gross misrepresentation”, describing her language around British Pakistani men as “unacceptable”.

The Tory MP blamed “political correctness” for authorities failing to tackle grooming gangs during a media round on Sunday morning.

The UK Government is expected to set out details on Monday of a plan to tackle grooming gangs and better protect children, which will include a consultation on introducing a mandatory duty on professionals working with children to report concerns about sexual abuse.

However, on Sunday, Braverman singled out British Pakistani men over concerns about grooming gangs as she accused authorities of turning a “blind eye” to signs of abuse over fears of being labelled “racist” or “bigoted”.

The Home Secretary said that the “systematic and institutional failure to safeguard the welfare of children when it comes to sexual abuse” was one of the biggest scandals in British history.

“What’s clear is that what we’ve seen is a practice whereby vulnerable white English girls, sometimes in care, sometimes who are in challenging circumstances, being pursued and raped and drugged and harmed by gangs of British Pakistani men who’ve worked in child abuse rings or networks,” she told the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News.



“It’s now down to the authorities to track these perpetrators down without fear or favour relentlessly and bring them to justice.



“We’ve seen institutions and state agencies, whether it’s social workers, teachers, the police, turn a blind eye to these signs of abuse out of political correctness, out of fear of being called racists, out of fear of being called bigoted.”

Charity boss Qureshi blasted the remarks, said they were “unacceptable” and demanded an apology for the “gross misrepresentation” of the Pakistani community.

She said: "The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has reached a new low.



“Her remarks are in direct contradiction to her own Department’s research, which found that most groups of child sex offenders tend to be white men under the age of 30.

“She is openly parroting far-right myths about racial groups and amplifying them into national trends.

“Her commentary is unacceptable, and I call on her to apologise for her gross misrepresentations of our communities.”

Qureshi said Braverman’s comments were “grossly offensive” to the thousands of law-abiding British Pakistanis living in the UK, and noted that newly elected First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf is of Pakistani descent.

“Yet she displays all the tact of a bull in a china shop,” Qureshi added.



“Her comments are tantamount to inciting racist violence which is a criminal offence. “Parliament must reign in this government minister who openly tells mistruths in the face of her own Department’s research.



“Sadly, this Home Secretary appears to be on a mission to cause as much offence as possible to those of immigrant stock, and to appease her far right voter base.

“Yet the irony for her is that the far right don’t want brown or black immigrants, or their children, or her, in this country or in positions of power.”



It comes after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse last year described sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake”.

The seven-year inquiry into institutional failings in England and Wales concluded that people in positions of trust should be compelled by law to report child sexual abuse.

The report found that there was currently “a marked absence of a cohesive set of laws and procedures in England and in Wales that require individuals working with children to report child sexual abuse”.

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 2, 2023 at 4:38pm

Mohammad Ramzan falsely accused in grooming case

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-64950862

A woman who falsely claimed she was raped by multiple men and trafficked by an Asian grooming gang has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years.

Eleanor Williams sparked protests in her Cumbrian home town of Barrow after posting photos on social media of injuries she said were from beatings.

But Preston Crown Court heard she inflicted the wounds herself using a hammer.

Williams, 22, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

A two-day sentencing hearing was told three men Williams falsely accused over a three-year period tried to take their own lives after being targeted and suffering "hell on earth".

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 2, 2023 at 7:45pm

Craig Murray -
@CraigMurrayOrg
This is incredible. The Home Office's own extensive study found that there is no ethnic group particularly involved in paedophile grooming, and that most organised paedophile groups are white.
Braverman is truly disgusting.

https://twitter.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/1642656137928404993?s=20

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/dec/analysis-new-home-office-report...

The study finds no credible evidence for a far-right stereotype that has spread widely in the media, writes Dr Ella Cockbain (UCL Security & Crime Science) in an article co-authored with Dr Waqas Tufail for The Guardian.

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 5, 2023 at 7:48am

Braverman words on British Pakistani men discriminatory: Pakistan
Pakistani official says UK home secretary’s remarks signal ‘intent to target and treat British Pakistanis differently’.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/5/braverman-words-on-british-...

Pakistan’s foreign office has criticised British Home Secretary Suella Braverman for “discriminatory and xenophobic” comments after she said that British Pakistani men “hold cultural values at odds with British values”.

In an interview with Sky News on Monday, Braverman also alleged British Pakistani men worked in child abuse rings or networks that targeted “vulnerable white English girls”.


Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Mehnaz Baloch on Wednesday condemned Braverman’s remarks which, he said, painted a “highly misleading picture signalling the intent to target and treat British Pakistanis differently”.

Baloch said Braverman had “erroneously branded criminal behaviour of some individuals as a representation of the entire community”.

“She fails to take note of the systemic racism and ghettoisation of communities and omits to recognise the tremendous cultural, economic and political contributions that British Pakistanis continue to make in British society,” Baloch said in her weekly briefing in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

A British Home Office report on group-based child sexual abuse published in 2020 pointed out that research on offender ethnicity is limited, and tends to rely on poor-quality data.

However, it did highlight studies that show white men as being the majority of offenders, in comparison with Asian or Black men.

The report’s findings were pointed out to Braverman during the interview, but she went on to say that British Pakistani men “see women in a demeaned and illegitimate way and who pursue an outdated and frankly heinous approach in terms of the way they behave”.

Braverman’s comments have received a backlash on social media, with users saying the remarks will mislead the public and “incite violence against those with particular racial characteristics”.


Comment by Riaz Haq on April 11, 2023 at 2:28pm

Watch: Braverman dubbed a ‘Trump tribute act’ following grooming comments
'I am calling her rhetoric racist, I am', Tory peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi said.


https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/watch-braverman-dubbed-a...

Suella Braverman has been labelled a “Trump tribute act” following her divisive rhetoric on child sexual exploitation.

The home secretary pointed to a “predominance of certain ethnic groups – and I say British Pakistani males – who hold cultural values totally at odds with British values, who see women in a demeaned and illegitimate way and pursue an outdated and frankly heinous approach in terms of the way they behave” in a speech.

She also claimed that victims and whistle-blowers were ignored “due to cultural sensitivity and political correctness’’, a claim challenged in many reports including the Operation Linden Report, published in June 2022.

Writing in response to the comments, a number of health organisations have criticised the home secretary’s rhetoric in the strongest possible terms.

An open letter reads:

“It is unacceptable for the Home Secretary to use inflammatory and divisive rhetoric that is sensationalist and contradicts her own department’s evidence.


-----


LBC
@LBC
'I am calling her rhetoric racist, I am.'

Tory peer Baroness
@SayeedaWarsi
condemns Suella Braverman's language and tells
@mrjamesob
we need a grown-up as Home Secretary, not a 'Trump tribute act'.

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 13, 2023 at 11:26am

As of 2016, there were 12,454 Pakistani doctors and 45,830 Indian doctors out of 215,630 total in the United States.


https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?QueryId=68336

India 45,830

Pakistan 12,454

Grenada 10,789

Philipines 10,217

Dominica 9,974

Mexico 9,923

Canada 7,765

Dominican Republic 6,269

China 5,772

UAE 4,635

Egypt 4,379

------------

Total Foreign Doctors in UK 66,211

India 18,953

Pakistan 8,026

Nigeria 4,880

Egypt 4,471

Foreign Doctors in Canada 25,400:

South Africa 2,604

India 2,127

Ireland 1,942

UK 1,923


US 1,263


Pakistan 1,087

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 23, 2023 at 12:49pm

#British #Pakistani elected Mayor of #Bolton, #UK. Ayub was born in the small village of Ghora, Kotli, Azad #Kashmir. He came from #Pakistan to Bolton in 1972 at age 15. He worked #textile mills, #manufacturing & transport sector & local gov't
https://www.bolton.gov.uk/councillors-mayor/mayor#:~:text=The%20May....

Ayub was born in the small village of Ghora, Kotli, Azad Kashmir. He came to live in Bolton in 1972 at the age 15.

Ayub has worked in various sectors including Textile mills, manufacturing, commercial and later in the transport sector and local government for last 40 years.

Ayub was elected to Bolton Council in 2006 and has represented Great Lever Ward for the last 17 years. He has served as Vice Chairman of the Planning Committee, Cabinet member for Highways & Transport, Audit, Corporate and Place scrutiny Committee. He has also served as a Governor of Bolton Islamic Girls School.

Mohammed Ayub will be the first Bolton Mayor of Kashmiri origin and is exceptionally proud to be Bolton’s First Citizen. Ayub has chosen his wife Zaibun Nisa to be his Mayoress, they have been married for 45 years. Originally born in Pakistan, Zaibun has lived in the UK for many years. They have 6 beautiful children and 14 grandchildren.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 25, 2023 at 7:51am

British Pakistani billionaire Anwar Pervez has a net worth of £3.1 billion.

Born in Rawalpindi, Pervez moved to the UK when he was 21 years old. He became a bus conductor in Bradford, working seven days a week and earning up to £18.

This eventually led to Pervez opening up his first convenience store, Kashmir, for the Muslim community in London.

https://www.desiblitz.com/content/pakistani-billionaires-living-in-....

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