WASHINGTON, Sep 02 :Pakistan\u2019s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan Friday underscored the need for people-to-people relations and stepped up trade with the U.S. state of New Mexico when he met Mayor Tim Keller of Albuquerque, the state\u2019s largest city.
\nDuring the meeting, he proposed a sister city relationship with Albuquerque, citing Punjab-California and Sindh-Georgia sister-province relations as well as Karachi-Houston sister cities ties already in place.
\nThe ambassador also thanked the mayor for the swift arrest of the culprit involved in the murder of Pakistani-American Muhammad Afzal Hussein, who was shot and killed outside his Albuquerque apartment complex last year. The individual, later named as Muhammad Syed, a 51-year-old Afghan origin man, had also carried out three other killings of a sectarian nature.
\n\u201cYour support, the message by the President of the United States and the diligence shown by Albuquerque administration helped restoring the confidence of Pakistani community,\u201d Masood Khan told Mayor Keller, according to a press release issued by the Pakistani embassy.
\nWelcoming the Ambassador, Mayor Keller said the killings were tragic and such violent actions had no place in Albuquerque. He expressed appreciation for the contributions of Pakistani diaspora and termed them as an integral component of New Mexico\u2019s diverse society.
\nThe Police Chief of Albuquerque Homicide Department added that the swift apprehension of the culprit was the result of joint efforts of the police and community.
\nThe Ambassador said that the two sides could also explore the untapped potential of cooperation in mining, agriculture, telemedicine, pharmaceuticals, and other important sectors that were a priority for Pakistan.
\nReferring to the existing trade volume between New Mexico and Pakistan currently standing at about $4 million, Masood Khan termed it far below the actual potential.
\nMasood Khan also invited Mayor Keller to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience, the press release said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON, Sep 02 :Pakistan\u2019s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan Friday underscored the need for people-to-people relations and stepped up trade with the U.S. state of New Mexico when he met Mayor Tim Keller of Albuquerque, the state\u2019s largest city. During the meeting, he proposed a sister city relationship with Albuquerque, citing Punjab-California and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-353315","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n