Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Mr Chairman, Your Excellencies, Commissioners of the Corporation, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am proud indeed to be your guest today and to be the honoured recipient of the key to the city of Dacca. Since I last visited Dacca nearly eight years ago, your city has visibly grown in stature, in beauty and in cleanliness. I congratulate the Municipal Authorities for the work they are doing and I would like to express my particular thanks to them and to the Police for making it possible to travel so easily to the outskirts of the city and through the busiest streets.

May I thank you first for the honour you have done Me in inviting My wife and Myself to this luncheon and asking Me to speak on a subject which is of great concern to us all. I must say, after such a plentiful luncheon, it is somewhat an arduous task but we are all used to it in the Jute Industry. I am particularly grateful for the generous references you have made to the work of My father and My grandfather for the cause of Pakistan.