On Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day, two overseas Pakistanis serving in the USA and UK share powerful messages of honesty, hardwork, passion and an unbreakable love for the homeland they never truly left.
By Imran Malik | Community Desk | SharjahNews.ae | MediaBites.com.pk
They left Pakistan carrying nothing but ambition, skill, and the values their homeland gave them. Decades later, they stand as a living testament to what those values can build, one in the United States of America and one in the United Kingdom.
On Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day, two overseas Pakistanis share their journeys, their messages, and the bonds with their motherland that distance has only made stronger.
Tariq Nadeem, Gas Station Chain Owner, New Jersey, USA, 35 Years of the American Dream
Tariq Nadeem’s story is the kind that Pakistan should tell its young people more often, and tell it loudly.
He arrived in New Jersey, USA 35 years ago with nothing except the willingness to work. No connections. No capital. No safety net. Just the character that Pakistan had given him and the determination to honor it in a foreign land.
He started with a modest, ordinary job, an unremarkable beginning by any external measure. Today he owns a chain of gas stations in New Jersey, a business achievement that represents decades of disciplined effort, consistent integrity, and relentless passion in one of the world’s most competitive economies.
On Pakistan’s Independence Day, Tariq reflects on that journey with the clarity that only experience can produce.
“I started my journey in the USA from a very ordinary job. Through hard work, truthfulness, and honesty, I have reached where I am today.”
He does not stop at his own success. He looks back at Pakistan and speaks directly to its people, especially its youth.
“Our situation in Pakistan is not ideal, but in every difficult situation, you must keep the flag of truth and honesty raised high. Whatever work you do, have passion for it. Then the sky is the limit.”
On this 14th August, Tariq Nadeem’s message from New Jersey is as Pakistani as any celebration happening on the streets of Lahore or Karachi. He built the American Dream the Pakistani way, with honesty, passion, and a refusal to compromise his values regardless of the circumstances.
He says Pakistan remains in his heart every single day. The green-and-white flag he displays at home on Independence Day is not a gesture. It is an identity he has carried for 35 years and will carry for every year that follows.
پاکستان زندہ باد۔
Dr. Lal Hussain Mughal, Cardiology Specialist, United Kingdom, 28 Years of Service
Dr. Lal Hussain Mughal carries three Pakistans in his biography.
He was born with deep roots in Azad Kashmir, the mountain homeland that shaped his character. He built his early medical career practising medicine in Lahore, learning his craft in the city that defines Pakistani professional life. And for the past 28 years he has served the British National Health Service as a cardiology specialist, bringing Pakistani dedication, precision and compassion to one of the world’s most respected and demanding healthcare systems.
Twenty-eight years of saving British hearts. Carried by Pakistani hands.
On Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day, Dr. Mughal chose not to deliver a conventional patriotic message. He delivered something more valuable, a challenge to his profession and a plea for human dignity in medicine.
His message is addressed specifically and directly to his fellow Pakistani doctors, and it takes genuine courage to say publicly what he said on August 14.
“Doctors, while remembering our humanity, there are specialists among us who are extracting heavy fees from ordinary people. Please set a benchmark. Do not charge more than PKR 2,000 in consultation fees. For the poor, the fee should be PKR 500 to PKR 1,000.”
He did not stop there.
“Keep your language soft with patients. Remember why you became a doctor. The poor patient sitting in front of you is not an opportunity. They are a responsibility.”
From his cardiology practice in the UK, Dr. Mughal has watched Pakistan’s medical sector from a distance and with the perspective that distance provides. He sees both its extraordinary talent and its troubling commercialization. His Independence Day message is a reminder that medicine is first a calling, then a career.
On this 14th August, he says his bond with Pakistan is as strong as the day he left. Azad Kashmir is in his roots. Lahore is in training. Pakistan is in everything he does, including the courage to speak truth to his own profession on the country’s national day.
پاکستان زندہ باد۔
One Message. Two Journeys. One Pakistan.
A businessman in New Jersey. A cardiologist in the United Kingdom. Thirty-five years in America. Twenty-eight years in Britain. Two completely different paths. One consistent truth.
Honesty. Hard work. Passion. Compassion. And a love for Pakistan that no years, no distance, and no foreign passport has ever diminished.
On Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day, their voices carry across oceans to remind every Pakistani, at home and abroad, that the values which built this nation are the same values that can rebuild it.
The sky is the limit. But only if the flag of truth stays raised.
پاکستان زندہ باد۔
