Zameer Choudrey’s elevation to House of Lords celebrated

LONDON: Chairman Conservative Party Brendon Lewis says people like Zameer Choudrey are a great asset to both Britain and Pakistan for creating job opportunities in both countries and benefitting business growth.

In a grand ceremony held at the Grosvenor House on Park Lane here to celebrate the elevation of Zameer Choudrey to the House of Lords, Lewis paid rich tribute to Mr. Choudrey and said he had shown leadership in areas of trade and commerce and he deserved to be in the House of Lords to play his role in progress of Britain from the Tory benches.

He recalled their joint visit to Pakistan to meet Pakistani leadership and hoped that Lord Zameer Choudrey will help further improve relations between the two countries. A large number of leading figures from various communities, including Sir Anwar Pervez, host of the evening;

high commissioner Nafees Zakaria; Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhary; parliamentarians from both Labour and Tory party and business leaders, attended the event. Zameer Choudrey has been made a Lord in in recognition of his contributions to Britain’s domestic and foreign trade as a leading businessman and entrepreneur, his philanthropic work both in the UK and abroad, and his role as chairman of the Conservative Friends of Pakistan.

Sir Anwar Pervez’s son Dawood Pervez led the tribute and said how his father and uncle worked hard to build a vast business empire valuing billions of Pounds. He said Zameer was 12 when he came to the UK from a village near Gujjar Khan and joined the business soon after finishing his studies.

“He was not born with a silver spoon [in his mouth] and credit goes to him for making the Bestway a successful business empire,” said Dawood, adding that people widely credit his father Sir Anwar Pervez for the success of Bestway group through his vision and planning but not many were aware that without Zameer Choudrey’s hard work and drive, the group would not be where it was today.

In his speech, Lord Zameer Choudrey thanked his colleagues and family for the support. He said appointment to the House of Lords was an “immense honour” for him and he will do his best to live up to the expectations attached to him.

Choudrey paid tribute to his uncle Sir Anwar Pervez and said it was one man’s vision which had gone on to help tens of thousands of people in many ways and without his leadership the whole group would not be a success story today. He said he viewed the UK as a land of opportunities and looked forward to continue playing his role.

Choudrey is the CEO of Bestway Group, a wholesale empire with a reported turnover of £3.5 billion and a workforce of 34,000. He is also the chairman of Conservative Friends of Pakistan (CFOP), an organisation seeking to build stronger ties between the UK’s Conservative Party with Pakistan and the British Pakistani community. Bestway Group owns Bestway Cement Ltd in Pakistan and also has a controlling share in the United Bank Limited (UBL). In 2016, Chaudhry was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), by the Queen as part of the Queen’s New Year 2016 Honours List.

He also sits as a trustee for several national charities, including CrimeStoppers, Grocery Aid and Bestway Foundation, which has donated over £30 million to worthy education and healthcare causes. In January 2018, he was appointed as UK Chair of the British Asian Trust’s Advisory Council, by HRH the Prince of Wales.