'Hope Pakistan gets leader like him': Pakistani-American businessman praises PM Modi

A prominent Pakistani-American businessman has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called him "remarkable and a natural-born leader". Baltimore-based Pakistani American businessman Sajid Tarar said Modi is a strong leader who has taken India to new heights and he will return as the country's Prime Minister for a third term.  

Tarar said Modi is not only good for India, but for the region and the world and hoped that Pakistan too gets a leader like him. "Modi is a remarkable leader. He's a natural-born leader. He is the one prime minister who has visited Pakistan in adverse circumstances and risked his political capital. I'm expecting that Modi ji will start dialogue and trade with Pakistan," Tarar told the news agency PTI. 

The businessman said a peaceful Pakistan is good for India as well. "It is written everywhere that Modi ji will be the next prime minister of India," he said in response to a question. Tarar moved to the US in the 1990s and is well-connected with the ruling Pakistani establishment. 

Speaking on the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and Indian democracy, Tarar said it is nothing but a miracle that 97 crore people in India are exercising their franchise. He said India is the biggest and largest democracy. "I'm seeing the popularity of Modi ji up there and the rise of India in 2024 is amazing. It's a story to be told. You will see it in the future that people will learn from Indian democracy," he added. 

Tarar said Pakistan is going through an economic crisis that has resulted in social unrest in many parts of the country including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). "Pakistan is going through an economic crisis. Inflation is high. Petrol prices are high. The IMF wants to increase taxes. Electricity costs have gone up. We are not able to export," he said. 

The protest in PoK is mainly due to the increase in electricity bills, he said. He questioned the decision of the Pakistani prime minister to give financial aid to the people of PoK. “Where is the money going to come from? It's discussing a new aid package from the IMF. Pakistan is going through a financial crisis," he said. 

"Regrettably, there is no effort to resolve the grassroots issues. How to increase exports. How to bring terrorism under control, and improve law and order. Currently, there is unrest in Pakistan like Kashmir (PoK), and there is political instability. We wish that we get some leadership who can take us to the next level away from all these issues," Tarar said. 

An intense anti-government protest has erupted in the PoK for the last six days over soaring inflation, high electricity tariffs, and taxation issues. In a tweet on May 10, Uzay Bulut, a Turkey-born journalist, said Pakistan's oppression of occupied Kashmir is worsening. She said that tensions are rising in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) as the Pakistani government has been deploying troops from Punjab Province to suppress the imminent protests in the region due May 11. "The protests aim to address the Kashmiri people's economic, social, and political problems that Pakistan's government has failed to solve."