The Pakistani community of London gathered at the "Park Plaza Victoria" Hotel in London on Tuesday evening to recognise and celebrate the appointment of Mr Mohammad Sarwar as the Governor of Punjab, Pakistan.

The event was organised by "The Community of London" group whose committee members include Mr Sarfraz Khan of Weaver Rose Accountants based in Southall and Ealing.

Representatives of the local mosques and business leaders from Southall were present to welcome the governor.

Mr Sarwar thanked the Scottish people without whose support he could not have become an MP. They were not distracted by his religion, colour, accent or broken English.

He recognised the past and future assistance of the overseas Pakistanis towards Pakistan. He asked them to help Pakistan gain access to the EU market to support the Pakistan economy.

He spoke about the obstacles he faced being the first Muslim MP in Britain and the tragedy of not being able to attend his own father’s funeral as he was in hospital himself.

He stated that he had opened the doors of the governor’s house to the ordinary people.

The speakers who spoke fondly of the governor were:

• Mr Sarwars brother
• Keith Vaz – MP for Leicester East and Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee
• Sajid Javid – MP for Bromsgrove
• Mr Faiz ul Rasool –Labour Friends of Pakistan
• Mr Shahzad Khan – of the event organisers
• Lord Qurban Hussain - Liberal Democrat peer
• Yasmin Qureshi – MP for Bolton South East
• Margaret Curran, Shadow secretary of state for Scotland, who used to be Mr Sarwar’s election agent
• Lord Nazir Ahmed, a long-time friend of Mr Sarwar
• Mr Wajid Shamsul Hasan - Pakistan High Commissioner
• Mr Anas Sarwar, son of Mohammad Sarwar, MP for Glasgow Central and deputy leader of the Scottish Labour party

Mr Sarwar's claims that all previous natural disasters that Pakistan has faced recently were sorted within 6 months were far fetched. This may have been the case for a minority but not for the majority of those affected.

BBC report of January 2011 stated that "Six months after their village was entirely submerged by the floods, it appears the people of Paka Ghalwa are still in shock" - still waiting for help to arrive.

His view that overseas Pakistanis have a more negative view of Pakistan than other nationalities is also disputable. It is a fact that Pakistan is recognised as one of the corrupt countries in the world and its leaders are the most corrupt.

Wikipedia reads "Corruption in Pakistan is widespread, particularly in the government, military, and lower levels of police forces."

All may be fine in the capital Islamabad but elsewhere the roads and electricity are in very short supply. Without these essentials, no progress is possible

He spoke up for the rights of the minorities in Pakistan by saying "If I can’t speak for the minorities in Pakistan. I have no right to be governor of Punjab."

Words alone are not enough. They need to be translated into action.