Mahmood Hasan
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — Representatives from different Pakistani community forums bid farewell to Consul General Aftab Ahmed Khokher and Consul Press Sohail Ali Khan at a dinner hosted by Pakistan Journalist Forum (PJF) here Friday night.
Amir Mohammad Khan, chairman of PJF, praised the consul general and consul press for their untiring efforts in streamlining things at the consulate and outside for the benefit of the common man.
He rued the fact that the press consul is leaving while his replacement has not even been named by the government.
Pakistan’s Christian community representative, Pervaiz Yousef, thanked both the departing government officials for going out of their way to help solve problems faced by their community.
He also wished the outgoing consul general continued success in his new post as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Lebanon.
Masood Puri, president of Kashmir Committee, praised Khokher’s diligent efforts in highlighting the Kashmir cause. “He was instrumental in taking the cause to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),” he said.
Sohail Ali Khan thanked PJF for its support. “It made my work easy. Now PJF is closely connected with the media in Pakistan and activities are shared all over the world instantly,” he added.
Sohail, who is returning from his second stint as Consul Press in Jeddah, also praised the consul general for his support, saying that made his work easy.
The consul press said he worked with six different consuls general during his career, but found Khokher to be the best since he represented the community’s concerns and wishes pertinently and managed to introduce a number of positive changes at the consulate. “Aftab Khokher has set the bar for community service pretty high,” Sohail said.
Khokher commended the role PJF has played in highlighting the issues of the Pakistani community. He also praised Sohail for not only looking after media affairs but also helping bring change at Pakistan International School English Section following years of parents’ complaints. Sohail also handled the affairs of the school as link officer.
Khokher said he has had a very busy time in Jeddah since he had to handle the amnesty announced by the Kingdom for expats without legal documents as soon as he landed in Jeddah and is leaving as the consulate is trying to identify and locate those missing in Mina incident.
Khokher said he will miss the friends he made in Saudi Arabia, but something he is going to miss the most are the Harmain. He requested the gathering to keep him and Pakistan in their prayers whenever they go to Haram.
Saudi media personality Waleed Al-Sherhi, PJF and community members presented shields to guests, while Mujeebul Hassan, photojournalist, presented a picture of Makkah Haram to Sohail and a calligraphy artwork to Aftab Khokher.
