Ghulam Rasul Shahzad OBE receives Plaque of Recognition for voluntary services

Ghulam Rasul Shahzad was presented with the Plaque of Recognition by Amjad Malik

Ghulam Rasul Shahzad OBE, the chairman of Action for Pakistan International, has been presented with the Plaque of Recognition shield for his voluntary services to the Pakistani, Kashmiri and the local community.

The shield was presented by Rochdale-based barrister Amjad Malik, the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF).

He said: “The OPF is very appreciative of Ghulam’s services, holding National Database Regulatory Authority (NADRA) surgeries in Rochdale for over eight years, and his voluntary services to the Pakistan Army in the 1965 war and other services in various aspects of life.”

Mr Shahzad, who is the Public Relations Officer of the Sahiwal Working Party, thanked the OPF and Mr Malik for presenting the shield to him and was thankful of the support given by the people of the Rochdale, Kashmiri and Pakistani communities.

Mr Shahzad was amongst the pioneer members and has been a part of the Sahiwal Working Party since its inception in 1988. He is one of the founder members of the twinning between Sahiwal, Pakistan, and Rochdale, which took place in December 1989.

He helped start the Pakistani flag raising outside the Town Hall on 14 August (Pakistan Independence Day), in addition to the annual Pakistan Day flag raising on 23 March.

He has also contributed towards organising dinners to raise funds for Mayor's charity, community cohesion, and raising awareness about Pakistan of the local communities and Pakistani children born in Rochdale.

Mr Shahzad passed his LLB in 1974 and was admitted to the Lahore District Bar Association in 1975. He has lived in Rochdale since August 1976, and was appointed a magistrate in 1993.

In 1997, Mr Shahzad was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award for twenty years of service to the local community, irrespective of their colour, creed, gender and religion.

Amongst many awards and certificates he has received over the years, Mr Shahzad was also awarded the Human Rights Award in 2001 by the Humlawan Rights Committee of the Lahore High Court Bar Association for his various projects in Pakistan.