FROM A MERE THIRTY RIYAL TO BEING THE HIGHEST REMITTANCE CONTRIBUTOR
It was a hot night in Jeddah, but it couldn’t break the determination of Chaudhry Mukhtar, a brave young man from Gujarat. Chaudhry Mukhtar was lying in a park, resting his head on two bricks, thinking about his future. He wasn’t disheartened because he knew he had to move forward and not give up. That day, he had earned 30 riyals after working hard and was thinking about how to solve his life’s challenges with such a small income. The only thing he knew was to conduct himself well, build relationships and trust, sell his technical skills well.
His parents and six siblings were in Pakistan, and he wanted to change their lives. Being hardworking and brave, he believed that his situation would improve one day. Coming from a poor family in a small town near Gujarat, he didn’t want to remain poor all his life; he wanted to change the fate of his younger siblings. That’s why he had come to Saudi Arabia to work honestly and improve his life.
The next day, as he was passing by a factory on his way to work, he saw an Arab sheikh trying unsuccessfully to fix a technical machine. Chaudhry Mukhtar offered to fix it, and the factory owner let him try. Mukhtar fixed the machine in minutes, which led to the factory owner giving him a job and a higher salary than initially promised. Over time, Mukhtar progressed in his job and called his younger brother Chaudhry Shafqat to Saudi Arabia. Both brothers worked in different companies. In 2001, when the Saudi government allowed foreigners to leave the sponsorship system and start their own companies, Mukhtar and Shafqat established their own company. They started getting big contracts from Saudi Electric and Jeddah Electric. Their company grew rapidly, hiring hundreds of employees and buying vehicles. They also worked on the umbrella and control system for Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina and did underground cabling in various cities in Saudi Arabia. The company now employs around 500 people and continues to grow quickly.
Chaudhry Shafqat, Mukhtar’s younger brother and key player in their company, told me this story. He expressed their wish for Pakistan to develop as quickly as they had seen growth in Saudi Arabia, and they want to contribute to this development. Their company has never fired an employee; even if someone leaves, they happily bid them farewell and welcome them back if they return. Shafqat also mentioned that the money their company sends to Pakistan is one of the highest foreign exchange any Pakistani organization sends.
This is a rag to riches story which world is witnessing day in and day out featuring those who have the will to succeed.
