VANCOUVER—Several Pakistani-Canadian groups are waiting for a formal apology from a BC Liberal MLA for a gibe about “Islamabad North” that he made in the legislature earlier this month.

Jas Johal made the comments May 16 while criticizing Minister of Citizens’ Services Jinny Sims for using her status to write visa reference letters for a number of people from Pakistan. Three of them were on a U.S. watch list, and Sims has since apologized.

During Question Period at the legislature, Johal said: “This minister keeps talking about representing her constituents, (but) these are Pakistani nationals on a watch list. She continues to forget that; she ignores that. I remind her she is an MLA for Surrey-Panorama, not Islamabad North.”

Members of the Pakistani Canadian Cultural Association wrote a letter to the Liberals asking Johal to apologize and retract his comments.

Johal met with members of the Pakistani-Canadian community on Thursday and made an initial apology. He told Star Vancouver he will make an official apology at the legislature and retract his statements by June 7.

“The allegation that I might be fuelling Islamophobia concerns me greatly,” Johal said.

Saima Naz, the Pakistani Canadian Cultural Association’s secretary-treasurer, said Johal’s comments were upsetting and further divided the South Asian community. There is a complex history of strife between Punjabi Indians and Punjabi Pakistanis, partly dating back to 1947 when Pakistan and India became two separate, independent dominions.

Johal is a Punjabi-Indian Canadian and immigrated from India to Canada at the age of two with his Orthodox Sikh parents.

Naz felt Johal was belittling to the Pakistani community, saying “you could hear the condescending tone in his voice.”

“Someone sitting in a powerful position like Jas (Johal) should not be making those comments that insinuate certain things about people from Pakistan, people from (its capital) Islamabad,” Naz said.

“There is a lot of hatred that we as Muslims and Pakistanis already experience ... and I think when somebody in a powerful position sort of takes a similar stance it gives others the permission to behave in a similar manner.”

Naz posted the clip of Johal speaking at the legislature to her Facebook profile, where others commented with their disapproval.

“Living in Surrey, we’ve been really working hard to bridge the gap (between Indians and Pakistanis),” said Naz. “It really adds fuel to the hate that might already be there from previous generations due to the 1947 separation.”

Johal told Star Vancouver he regrets that he sounded condescending.

“The nature of Westminster parliamentary democracy (at B.C.’s legislature) is confrontational,” he said. “I didn’t think it was condescending, it was just to challenge the minister ... She kept ignoring our questions.”

Johal said the term Islamabad North was intended to “show that (Jinny Sims’) priorities should be here (in her constituency of Surrey) and not on foreign nationals.”

He acknowledged his wrongdoing and said he has been meeting with different organizations to apologize.

“I know I shouldn’t have used the term ‘Islamabad North.’ I think that’s where the concern was, that somehow that implies Pakistanis can’t be trusted, or at the very least fuels Islamophobia.”

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Naz said she is grateful Johal met with members of the Pakistani-Canadian community and is looking forward to his official apology next week.

“I think it’s very important for him to ... say that, ‘I’ve hurt the Pakistani community, it was not my intention, and I’m sorry that I did that.’ That’s what we’re hoping for, but let’s see what he follows up with,” she said.

With files from Melanie Green

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