Is the Pakistani Diaspora in the West Doing Poorly?

[Riaz Haq]

A recent Dawn newspaper article entitled "Getting Ahead in the West" by British journalist Owen Bennet Jones suggests that Pakistanis in the US and the UK are doing poorly relative to their Indian counterparts. It builds this narrative using the example of 3 ministers of Indian origin and just one junior minister of Pakistani origin in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's cabinet. It also cites the example of the choice of Kamala Harris, who is seen as African-American in the US political context, on the Democratic presidential ticket headed by former Vice President Joseph R. Biden.

British Pakistanis: 

While it is true that the current British government has three ministers of Indian origin, it is also true that British Pakistanis Sajid Javid and Sayeeda Warsi held senior cabinet posts in recent British governments headed by Prime Ministers Teresa May and David Cameron. 

In addition to cabinet memberships, British Pakistanis have been elected as mayors of several cities, including London. They also have over a dozen seats in the British and European parliaments. 

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. There are 15 British Indians in the UK parliament and they make up 2.3% of the UK population. 

Upwardly Mobile Pakistani-Americans: 

A recent study shows that Pakistani-Americans are among 5 most upwardly mobile groups in the United States. Other top most upwardly groups are Chinese-Americans from Hong Kong, Taiwan and People's Republic of China and Indian-Americans.

Immigration to the United States continues to offer a route to escape poverty — if not for poor immigrants themselves, then for their sons, according to a study published by a team of economic historians at Princeton, Stanford and the University of California, Davis.

It is important to note that there are about 500,000 Pakistani-Americans, a fraction of about 3.2 million Indian-Americans in the United States. 

Average income rank of sons with parents in 25th percentile. Source...

Top 5 Upwardly Mobile Groups in America:

The study shows the adult outcomes of sons born in 1980 who grew up in poor families at about the 25th percentile of income distribution in the United States. Pakistani-American sons born in poor households are now at 59th percentile of income in the United States.

Sons of immigrants from Hong Kong in 25th percentile have the highest economic mobility are 64th percentile followed by China at 63rd, India at 62nd and Taiwan at 60th percentile. Sons of American born fathers are at 46th percentile, much lower than for the sons of immigrants. Only the sons of immigrants from the Caribbean island nations of  Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica have lower mobility.

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".

Pakistani Doctors in the West:

Pakistani doctors make up the third largest source of practicing physicians and surgeons in the United States.  Pakistan is also 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:

Pakistani-Americans are among the top 5 groups in terms of upward economic mobility, according to a study by researchers at Princeton, Stanford and UC Davis. Other immigrant groups with high mobility in America include Chinese and Indians.  It is important to note that there are about 500,000 Pakistani-Americans, a fraction of about 3.2 million Indian-Americans in the United States. 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.  Pakistani-American have been described as "geniuses" by CNN analyst Van Jones.

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[Riaz Haq]

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'.

[Riaz Haq]

#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.

[Riaz Haq]

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-....

[Riaz Haq]

Why Pakistani students benefit the most from going to university

https://theconversation.com/why-pakistani-students-benefit-the-most...

By Beth Daley
Editor and GM

The benefits are especially large for (British) Pakistani students, with an estimated boost to average earnings of more than a third by age 30. Adding up predicted gains over the whole life cycle and taking into account taxes and student loans, we found that doing a degree is worth around £200,000 for Pakistani students – around twice the average return for all students we calculated in previous work.

This is not because Pakistani graduates have especially high earnings. In fact, the opposite is true: Pakistani graduates have the lowest graduate earnings of all ethnic groups, with typical earnings at age 30 of £23,000 for men and £19,000 for women.

How The Conversation is different: We explain without oversimplifying.
Learn more
Instead the reason is that – based on comparing similar people who did and didn’t go to university – Pakistani graduates would have earned much less had they not gone to university. Typical earnings at age 30 of Pakistani men and women who did not go to university are only £13,000 for men and £11,000 for women.

An important factor explaining the large earnings gains for Pakistani graduates (compared to not attending university) appears to be that Pakistani students are more likely than White British students to choose subjects with good job prospects at university, such as business, law, or pharmacology. They are also less likely to choose degrees with low or negative financial returns, such as creative arts.



These findings appear to contradict a claim in the government’s recent race commission report. According to the report, an explanation for the low graduate earnings of many ethnic minority groups is that “ethnic minority students, and especially Black students, from lower social status backgrounds are not being well advised on which courses to take at university”.

Our findings suggest that the opposite is true for South Asian students, as they tend to study more lucrative subjects than white students. We also find no evidence that black students choose lower-return subjects than white students. This does not mean that poor career advice is not a problem – but it doesn’t seem to affect ethnic minorities disproportionately.

The government’s report also suggests that ethnic minorities have low graduate earnings because they attend less selective universities. It is true that students from ethnic minorities – especially black students – are more likely to attend lower tariff universities, and that graduates of these institutions earn less than other graduates.

But importantly, this does not mean that these universities offer low returns. Many graduates of these institutions would have had much lower earnings still if they had not gone to university at all. Overall, we found no evidence that ethnic minorities’ institution choices lower their gains from attending university.

[Riaz Haq]

To Buy This Rare Bugatti, He (Pakistani Canadian Bilal Hyderi) Needed Money, Patience and a Trip to France - The Wall Street Journal.


https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/cars/bugatti-chiron-16-cylinder-cost-...

Bilal Hydrie’s dream of owning a 2023 Bugatti Chiron came true after paperwork, interviews, travel—and a $1.5 million deposit

Bilal Hydrie, the president and CEO of an energy company and an investor in oil-and-gas companies, who lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on his 2023 Bugatti Chiron, as told to A.J. Baime.

Luxury, to me, is not about material possessions. My philosophy is, you have to work really hard in life for your dreams, but you have to enjoy your life, too. Having dreams can be an important motivator to do the best you can. I have been passionate about cars going back to when I was young, growing up in Pakistan. I have owned Ferraris and Lamborghinis, but, for me, Bugatti was always the ultimate dream. I never thought I would achieve this dream, but the journey has been amazing.

You cannot just walk into a dealership and buy a Bugatti because so few exist. I had bought several cars through a dealership in Toronto called Grand Touring Automobiles and, nearly three years ago, I asked if they could get me an allocation for a Bugatti. They said they would try.

The first thing I had to do was fill out an application. A couple representatives from Bugatti interviewed me. They asked about my passion and why I wanted to become an owner. Then I was asked to visit the factory, so I flew to France. It was a totally different experience than what I expected.

Bugatti is a world-famous brand. You would expect a giant factory with hundreds of technicians. In fact, the place they took me to was a large house, called the Château St. Jean. [The company was founded by Ettore Bugatti before World War I in Molsheim, France, and has used this château to conduct business meetings going back to 1928.]

They showed me a presentation of the history of Bugatti and how every model tells a story of innovation. They took me to where the cars were built. There were just five or six technicians hand-building the next Bugatti.

To buy a car, I had to put down a deposit of $1.5 million. Every car is personalized. I had high expectations and specific things I wanted. But the company is so into the craftsmanship, they cannot do just anything you ask. They will not do anything that doesn’t meet their standards.

Two-and-a-half years after I filled out an application, I took ownership of my Chiron [pronounced Shee-RON]. Bugatti made 500 Chirons, and mine was the very last standard 1500-horsepower Chiron that will ever be built. Every executive and every technician who worked on this car signed the underside of the hood.

[Riaz Haq]

UK's most diverse parliament welcomes 15 British-Pakistani MPs

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1206906-uks-most-diverse-parliame...

Notably, there are now 15 British-Pakistani members of parliament, with four of them serving for the first time, Reuters reported.

Labour Party's Afzal Khan, Imran Hussain, Naz Shah, Yasmin Qureshi, Muhammad Yasin, Tahir Ali, Shabana Mahmood, Zarah Sultana, Dr Zubir Ahmed, Naushabah Khan, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan claimed victory in the election.

Additionally, independent candidates Ayoub Khan and Adnan Hussain, as well as Conservative candidates Saqib Bhatti and Nusrat Ghani, secured victories in the election, contributing to the increased diversity in Parliament.

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British Pakistani Shabana Mahmood appointed Lord Chancellor, Justice Secretary in UK PM Starmer's cabinet

LONDON: British-Pakistani Kashmiri-origin Birmingham MP Shabana Mahmood was named as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice in the new Labour government, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office confirmed on Friday.

Mahmood was the fourth former shadow minister to walk into Downing Street following Starmer's appointment as prime minister. She will be the first observant Muslim and only the second woman to assume the ancient office of lord chancellor.

Her parents hail from Mirpur, Azad Kashmir. She is a fluent speaker of Urdu and Mirpuri.

Mahmood was born and brought up in Birmingham and called to the bar at Grays Inn after studying on a scholarship. In practice, she specialised in professional indemnity cases. She was appointed shadow justice secretary in September last year.

Her previous shadow ministerial roles included spells at home affairs, business and as shadow chief secretary to the Treasury.