LONDON: Overseas Pakistanis Commission (OPC) Punjab and World Congress of Overseas Pakistanis (WCOP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation for resolving “legitimate grievances of overseas Pakistanis”. The MoU was signed by Commissioner OPC Punjab Afzaal Bhatti and Chairman WCOP Syed Qamar Raza in London. Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Syed Mansoor Ali Shah was also present. OPC Punjab is a special institution with Services and General Administration Department of the Government of the Punjab created by the Act of Assembly through The Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission Act 2014. Afzaal Bhatti was appointed its first commissioner. Chief Minister of Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif is the Chairman of the Commission. The MoU was signed upon the recommendations of the WCOP legal support working group led by a team of legal and professional experts. The memorandum stipulated the terms that both the organisations will be working for the welfare of Overseas Pakistanis through resolving their legitimate problems by fast track process of support and cooperation from the executive. WCOP agreed to facilitate the work of OPC through WCOP offices in the UK and abroad for dissemination of information, provision of guidance and referring the cases over to OPC in voluntary capacity. Seminars, workshops and road shows will be organised for the awareness of overseas Pakistanis to educate them about the grievance procedure available through OPC. Both organisations agreed on appointing focal persons to facilitate the process. Makhdoom Tariq Mehmood-ul-Hassan was appointed focal person from the WCOP Board of Governors to liaise with the OPC. WCOP Executive Director Arif Anis Malik will oversee the process. OPC has agreed to appoint a senior official from the secretariat to support the focal person. Overseas Pakistanis Commission (OPC) Punjab Commissioner Afzaal Bhatti said that the commission had received more than 10,000 complaints from overseas Pakistanis so far, out of which 51 per cent had been redressed on merit. He said that the OPC Punjab had developed a modern and effective system where all complaints are referred to the departments concerned and monitored electronically. WCOP Chairman Syed Qamar Raza said the MoU and collaborative understanding would play an important role for resolving the problems of overseas Pakistanis regardless of their political orientation. Focal person Makhdoom Tariq Mehmood-ul-Hassan said a special facilitation office would be opened in January 2018 in the UK to expedite procedure to address the grievances of overseas Pakistanis.
