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Shah Ashraf is hoping to land a spot in his home country’s senate after parliamentary elections are held next year.
The business consultant, who has dual citizenship, recently returned to Minnesota after accompanying former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto on her return after eight years in exile. He said he was with her entourage Oct. 18 when an explosion killed 136 people and injured another 450.
“It was a very difficult and painful movement to see body parts of our young generation scattered all over the area,” Ashraf said.
After the attack, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended the constitution and delayed general elections until Jan. 9, 2008. U.S. diplomats urged Musharraf to end the emergency rule and restore democracy. The U.S. regards Pakistan as a key ally in the war on terror.
Pakistan’s National Assembly is chosen by the public while senators are indirectly elected by provincial assemblies and the territories’ representatives through proportional representation.
Ashraf, 48, said the country is dealing with suicide bombers and militants who are trying to destabilize the country and defeat the U.S. in Afghanistan. But he said people in Pakistan are friendly and modern and encouraged Americans to give Pakistan a chance.
“People of Pakistan love people in the (U.S.) and will fight with them against terrorists,” he said.
Ashraf, who has lived in the U.S. since 1994 and in Owatonna since 1998, said he travels to Pakistan twice a year for business and vacation.
