Senator hosts party for ‘unsung heroes’

Senator Mushahid Hussain, who represents the federal capital in the Senate, organised a Christmas-cum-New Year’s Party in honour of sanitation workers at the E-7 Park on Wednesday.

Lauding the hard work, role and contribution of sanitary workers to keep Islamabad ‘clean and green’, he said, “You are the real VIPs, given your honesty, dedication and hard work and we are proud of you.”

Hussain also awarded shields of appreciation to two retiring sanitary workers named Yaqoob Masih, who served for 42 years, and Saifur Rahman, who worked for 38 years. About 150 sanitary workers attended the party.

Talking to the media, the senator said that Islamabad is a city of the elites, where VIP culture is prevalent and only VIPs are acknowledged or honoured, therefore, he wanted to set a different example by ‘honouring the Christian community, who are the weakest and most oppressed section of Pakistani society.

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He said, ‘Usually, in Islamabad, we only honour VIPs or those holding high office’. “The ‘sanitary workers are the real VIPs, because they serve selflessly, above and beyond the call of duty, at meager salaries, and it is because of them that our city is so clean and beautiful.”

Hussain said that ‘we must uphold Quaid e Azam’s vision of equality for all Pakistanis, irrespective of religion, caste or creed’ and respect the national flag where the white colour honours non-Muslim Pakistanis. He also said ‘humanity should be paramount and the real worship is serving humanity, above any prejudices or any consideration of colour, caste or creed’.

Last year, Hussain arranged a similar function in honour of Manzoor Masih, a retiring sanitary worker and other members of the CDA Sanitation staff. The head of the CDA Labour Union, Chaudhry Yasin, and Senator Fawzia Arshad, PTI Senator from Islamabad also attended the function.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2024.