Governor Sarwar says glad he helped ‘No’ campaign in Scotland

LONDON: Governor Punjab Muhammad Sarwar played a crucial role in ensuring that most of Scottish ethnic minorities vote for the ‘No’ campaign to remain part of the United Kingdom.
The News understands that help of Muhammad Sarwar, who was busy in Pakistan negotiating between the government and PTI/PAT in Islamabad, was enlisted by former prime minister Gordon Brown, who is a personal friend of Sarwar and who along with colleague Alastair Darling was leading the ‘No’ Campaign against Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) Alex Salmond. Media in England and Scotland focussed on how Muhammad Sarwar was brought over from Pakistan by the ‘Better Together’ campaign to help out the campaigners but media accepted that Sarwar’s intervention will prove to be crucial as he is popular in Scotland and has a huge support base.
Muhammad Sarwar, a former Glasgow Labour MP, was called when at one stage the ‘Yes’ campaign looked strong and the importance of around 150,000 Asian voters increased. It’s understood that most of the Pakistanis, who form majority of the ethnic minority group, voted for the ‘No’ campaign. After arriving last week from Pakistan, Muhamamd Sarwar took part in 7 indoor events and went for door to door canvassing and wooed the Asian voters.
It was thought that the old generation Pakistanis wanted to remain part of the Kingdom but the new generation Scottish Pakistanis wanted independence but the results showed that a great number of young generation voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.
Some Pakistani political groups, mainly PTI supporters in Glasgow, campaigned for independence and at one stage held a demonstration against Muhammad Sarwar but the governor Punjab was able to draw large crowds to the events where he spoke. His son and Labour party’s leader in Scotland Anas Sarwar also led the campaign for ‘No’ campaign.
Sarwar’s intervention was opposed by a rising star Scottish Pakistani politician Hamza Yousuf. Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s Minister for External Affairs and International Development, said that Sarwar’s intervention isn’t “an issue for foreign governments to interfere in”.
Speaking to The News, The UK’s fist Muslim MP, who renounced British nationality to become governor of Punjab, said that the ‘No’ campaign’s victory has strengthened Scotland and will go on to be beneficial not for the diverse communities of the United Kingdom but also to Pakistan.
“I have lived in this country for over 40 years and this country has given me so much. I couldn’t see it breaking. I am glad that I played my small part, I have done it for Britain as well as for Pakistan. We need friends like United Kingdom to support Pakistan on various forums. Division of the UK would have served no one and an independent Scotland would not be beneficial for the Scottish people.”
He paid tribute to Alex Salmond, who announced his resignation after losing the hard-fought campaign. “The way Alex Salmond accepted the defeat gracefully and respected the democratic choice of the Scottish people deserves applause. It should also show to Pakistani leaders that hey can resolve their differences amicably and through political dialogue, without resorting to violence or harsh language.”
He said that Pakistani leaders can learn a lot from how business is conducted in democracies and in the end all of them unite for the greater interest of the country.