Pak expat sees 50 years of UAE's spectacular growth

‘One of my colleagues told me to present a beautifully decorated eagle to His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. With good luck we met him to present the git’

- Jamil Khan

“The pleasure of being a resident of the world’s best country on the planet for the last 50 years is enormous. Most importantly, we are the lucky ones who witnessed the magnificent development of all modern facilities of today from the start.”

This was stated by Pakistani expatriate Sheikh Muhammed Pervaiz who recently completed 50 years of his stay in the country. He embarked from Karachi on the famous merchant ship, Dwarka, and reached Dubai on Aug 24, 1971.

Hailing from Lahore, he was 23 then and had just got his degree to pursue his career in a new land, which offered enormous opportunities, as it was the talk of the town in the early ‘70s.

“At that time, youngsters with degrees were ready to try their luck in Dubai to find a good opportunity while it was still a Trucial State. To see my passion, one of my relatives, who was an employee in the British Embassy in Pakistan and later became my father-in-law, obtained a visa for me. The joy was unforgettable and without further delay, I was sent to Karachi where I embarked on a ship and within 3-4 days reached Dubai,” he recalled.