As Pakistan celebrates its 79th Independence Day, two overseas Pakistanis living in the UAE share powerful messages of love, unity, and commitment to their homeland, which they serve from thousands of miles away.
By Imran Malik | Community Desk | SharjahNews.ae | MediaBites.com.pk
There is a particular kind of love for Pakistan that only distance can produce.
The Pakistani who wakes up on August 14 in Lahore or Karachi celebrates independence surrounded by the sights, sounds, and traditions of home. The Pakistani who wakes up in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Sharjah celebrates it surrounded by the memory of home, and that memory, refined by distance and deepened by longing, often burns brighter than anything that proximity can produce.
As Pakistan marks its 79th Independence Day, two overseas Pakistanis living and working in the UAE have shared messages that capture precisely that quality of love, commitment, and devotion that the Pakistani diaspora carries wherever it goes.
Ahsan Syed, General Manager, LuxeLED, United Arab Emirates
Ahsan Syed, General Manager at LuxeLED in the UAE, shared a message that combined remembrance, renewal, and hope in equal measure.
“Dear Pakistanis, on this 14th August, let us remember the sacrifices of our forefathers who gifted us a free and sovereign homeland,” he said.
“Let us renew our commitment to unity, faith, and discipline to build a stronger, prosperous, and peaceful Pakistan. Together, we can turn our dreams into reality and make our country a beacon of progress and pride.”
His closing words carried the weight of genuine conviction: “Long Live Pakistan. Happy Independence Day. پاکستان زندہ باد۔”
Dr. Syed Waqar, Urologist, Pride Medical Center, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Dr. Syed Waqar, a urologist at Pride Medical Center in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, brought a distinctly professional and public health dimension to his Independence Day message, one that reflects both his medical vocation and his deep concern for Pakistan’s future.
“Happy Independence Day,” he said. “As a doctor, I urge our whole nation and overseas Pakistanis to stay united, protect our health, and build a strong, healthy future for Pakistan.”
His message was brief, but its three pillars, unity, health, and a strong future, form a prescription not just for individual wellness but for national renewal.
The UAE’s Pakistani Community, Far From Home, Close to Heart
The UAE is home to approximately 1.6 million Pakistanis, making it one of the largest Pakistani diaspora communities in the world and one of Pakistan’s most significant sources of remittances. Every year on August 14, those 1.6 million Pakistanis celebrate independence in a country that has given them opportunity, stability, and livelihood, while carrying in their hearts a homeland they never truly left.
The messages from Ahsan Syed and Dr. Syed Waqar reflect a universal aspect of the Pakistani overseas experience. Distance does not diminish love for Pakistan. It refines it, strips away the daily frustrations, and leaves behind the essential attachment to the land, the people, the history, and the dream that Pakistan still represents.
On Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day, that dream is being celebrated not just in Islamabad, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Lahore but in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, London, New York, Toronto, and every corner of the world where a Pakistani heart beats.
پاکستان زندہ باد۔
