At a time when Pakistani community living in Japan is worried sick about the situation back home, the news of an unannounced exhibition of imported carpets at our embassy in Tokyo on October 25-26 was all the more surprising with many circles terming it a “Secret carpet exhibition”.
Holding exhibition of any kind in a foreign country is of high significance, and every country ensures that a variety of products of indigenous companies go on display at such an event. But the way this carpet exhibition was organized was very strange.
Some two years ago during the term of Ambassador Kamran Niaz, two similar exhibitions of a particular Japanese company were organized at the official residence of the former Pakistani ambassador. It is worth mentioning that the Pakistani community living here was not informed about the exhibitions. When Pakistani community raised questions, it was disclosed that the particular Japanese company used to import carpets from a Pakistani company, whose owner had special relations with the former Pakistani ambassador. And now the nature of the relationship is known to everyone.
After the new ambassador took charge some six months ago, the Pakistani community was optimistic that things would look up. But, unfortunately, more recently things have taken a turn for the worst.
On October 24, the Pakistani Chamber of Commerce Japan organized a reception in the honor of Pakistan’s Charge de Affairs Imtiaz Ahmed, who is performing his duties as the acting ambassador as well. The objective of the reception was to introduce the new president of the Pakistan Association and to talk about another exhibition to be held in Tokyo on November 5-9 with the joint collaboration of Pakistan Embassy and the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce Japan.
I was invited to the meeting as a journalist. It is surprising to note that the new president of the Pakistan Association Japan as well as Pakistan Chamber of Commerce Japan President Zulfiqar Ali were kept in the dark regarding the carpets exhibition. They were also not invited to the clandestine event.
When the Pakistan Chamber president and General Secretary of Pakistan Association Japan Malik Habibur Rehman came to know abut the carpets exhibition at the Pakistan Embassy, they were completely taken aback.
Other Pakistani businessmen involved in carpet trade in Japan also got to know about the exhibition, but they, too, couldn’t do anything but protest in silence, as our embassy, instead of being a symbol of home, has become a symbol of fear. The main reason for this kind of feeling is the direct interference in the community matters by the embassy officials. If someone dares to disagree to join the embassy officials’ favourite organization, then it results in a character assassination campaign launched on a website created by their associates.
Certain elements backed by embassy officials try to propagate an impression among the Pakistanis that in case anybody tried to say anything against embassy matters or the organization backed by the embassy, they could be accused of having links with Al-Qaeda or the Taliban, and the embassy might report that to the Japanese police. Such threats keep the Pakistani community in a state of fear and they are forced to keep mum. 
In spite of the adverse circumstances, there are some who are not scared and are trying to spell the truth out. One of them is Amjad Iqbal Janjua, representative of the Human Rights Council Pakistan in Japan. He didn’t just send me a press statement, but also issued statements to some Pakistani newspapers in an effort to divert the government’s attention towards the problem. But somehow his efforts didn’t prove fruitful, making the embassy officers and their network believe that no one can touch them.
I contacted the former president of Pakistan Association Japan (registered), Khawaja Tariq, a famous businessman currently residing in the US, to know whether he was invited to the carpet exhibition or not. He expressed his surprise that even after the new ambassador’s arrival, exhibitions of a particular individual’s carpets was continuing even though the Pakistani community had registered strong protest on the issue.
Khawaja Tariq said if it were an exhibition of Pakistani carpets then all those Pakistani carpet traders in Japan should have been invited. He said if this approach had been adopted, exposure of a range of Pakistani carpets in the Japanese market could have been ensured, resulting in greater benefit to Pakistani businessmen.
He said the Japanese company whose items were put on exhibition didn’t do significant business with Pakistan; rather it bought carpets from a Pakistani in Japan, Altaf Mehmood Butt. Mr. Butt’s strong ties within the embassy can be gauged by the fact that the latter organized an exhibition of the same company to whom the former sells carpets. This implies that the exhibition is actually that of Mr Butt’s carpets, under the name of a Japanese company.
It is interesting that among the whole lot of Pakistani carpet sellers in Japan, only Mr. Butt is found attending all such exhibitions, while others are not even informed.
Khawaja Tariq expressed his astonishment that in the presence of so many Pakistani community organisations, chapters of political parties, Pakistan Chamber of Commerce Japan and Pakistani media in Japan, no Pakistani was invited to the carpet exhibition held at the embassy. 
He stressed that the embassy must treat all Pakistanis equally. Responding to a question about possible reasons behind holding of an exhibition with a single company, Mr. Tariq said it smacked of personal interests.
Pakistan Human Rights Council Japan representative Amjab Iqbal Janjua was the first one to lodge a protest. He phoned the acting ambassador to inquire about the unannounced exhibition. In his letters to the president of Pakistan, prime minister, foreign minister and secretary foreign office, Mr. Janua appealed that the Pakistan embassy be freed from the clutches of a particular group whose ‘godfather’ was a Pakistani carpet businessman in Japan.
He said since 2003, the carpet exhibitions held at the Pakistan embassy in Tokyo were by the same trader. He added that the Pakistani ambassador, in his official position, invited ambassadors as well as directors of large companies to such exhibitions, and that was how huge orders for carpets were secured.
Mr. Janjua said a carpet was normally sold at about 0.1 million Yen in the open market, however, with the ambassador-imposed seal of ‘Pakistani culture’, the same piece went for 1.5 million yen in Japan.
He alleged that the profits from the exhibition were distributed among the particular carpet dealer and two officers of the embassy. Only investigations by the government of Pakistan can ascertain if there is some truth behind such allegations by Amjad Janjua.
Quoting a source in the Pakistan embassy, Mr. Janjua, has also claimed in his letter, that orders worth millions of Japanese yens have been placed by various embassies and companies at the said carpet exhibition and the particular carpet dealer will earn a lot of profit through them. Through his letter, he has also appealed to the president and the prime minister to investigate and find out who benefited from the said expo.
He has also demanded immediate transfer of four top Pakistani diplomats, including the acting ambassador, from Japan.
The Weekly Pulse tried to contact the embassy for its comments in this regard through a fax sent on October 25, but no reply was received till October 29.
On October 30 another letter was faxed to the embassy regarding the exhibition, and a reply was received the same day. In the reply, the commercial secretary, Rehman Hamid, stated that in the event hall of the embassy, an exhibition of Pakistani carpets “Tana Bana” was organized with the support of Fuaji Light Carpet Company on October 25-26.
Titled “Gandhara”, the exhibition highlighted the expertise of Pakistani artisans and the expertise with which a variety of carpets were made. Various designs of Pakistani carpets were also highlighted in the exhibition that attracted significant attention. 
The statement also said that as the title of the exhibition was “Gandhara”, Peshawar was portrayed as the centre of this great ancient civilization. The hand stitched carpets of Peshawar remained centre of attraction. Hand-stitched carpets from Lahore and Karachi were also put on display.
However, the statement did not say how many Pakistani traders or business working in Japan were invited. It also did not explain as to why Pakistan Chamber of Commerce Japan and other expatriates were not invited, and why an open announcement was not made before the exhibition.
The statement also did not give any information about the company that helped organize the event.
This is not the first time that an exhibition has been arranged in hiding; during the tenure of former ambassador, Kamran Niaz, too, it happened twice. At that time also, various circles of the Pakistani community strongly protested against the act. People accused the former ambassador of minting millions of dollars. In an interview two years ago, the former ambassador, Kamran Niaz, rejected the accusations, but could not properly answer the questions as to why a carpet exhibition by a single company was held.
Here, it is important to highlight the similarities between the previous exhibitions and the one held on October 25-26: The exhibitions were held without any announcement and were kept hidden from the Pakistani community. On all the three occasions, the exhibition was held with the support of one company i.e. a Japanese company. A particular Pakistani carpet dealer always participates in these exhibitions, whose close understanding with the Japanese carpet company, the ambassador and the officials of the Pakistan embassy is an open secret.
It is important to mention here that some of the most senior Pakistani businessmen associated with the carpet industry like the head of Israr n Carpet and Rugs, M Saeed Nasir, too, have not been informed about the exhibition. M Saeed has been residing in Japan for the past 35 years, and has been one of the pioneers in carpet trade. Even in carpet exhibitions organized by the Iranian embassy in Japan, he is invited. M Saeed has himself been organizing carpet exhibitions since long. In Japan, he is respectfully called the senior teacher by the Iranian carpet traders.
The extent of his trade in the field can be assessed by the fact that there was a time when his company accounted for 90 per cent of total carpet imports from Pakistan.
It is astonishing to note that even people like Mr. Nasir, who played a pivotal role in introducing Pakistani carpets in Japan, were not informed about the carpets exhibition at the embassy.
In an interview, Mr. Nasir told this scribe that the Iranian embassy in Japan organized carpet exhibition of Iranian companies, and last year they organized three such exhibitions. The Iranian embassy promotes their own traders dealing in carpets and doe not hold exhibitions of Japanese carpet-making companies, he added.
Mr. Nasir said it was the practice of the Iranian embassy to send them invitations for the exhibition followed up by phone calls. He lamented that this wasn’t the case with the Pakistan embassy. He said such exhibitions would do no good to the cause of promoting Pakistani products.
He said the products placed at the exhibition were priced at least ten times more than their actual price, which, in turn, was damaging Pakistan’s image in Japan.  He criticised why only one company was allowed to hold exhibition at the embassy. He also condemned the act of holding exhibitions without informing any one. He said he had nothing against the Japanese company, but it was the duty of the Pakistan ambassador to judge what was in favour of Pakistan and what was against its interest.
He said that it was unjust to keep the Pakistani traders from benefiting though an exhibition that was being organized using the resources of Pakistan. He demanded that the government of Pakistan should look into these matters.
All this is enough to indicate that the embassy staff is more interested in meeting their personal objectives than protecting and promoting national interest.
Many Pakistanis in Japan are into the business of used cars, and rumours are rife that some Pakistani diplomats ask for cars as a ‘gift’ from them. In addition to their official responsibilities, these diplomats are also stated to be doing the business of used cars in cooperation with a select group of car dealers. In this arrangement, they provide the investment and all possible official support, whereas the partner looks over the entire business.
Moreover, the issue of sale of land and the building of the Pakistan embassy two years ago is another question mark. During the period of former ambassador, Kamran Niaz, the embassy building was repaired at the cost of some 0.5 million dollars, but later it was quietly sold along with the 2000 sq metre land on the pretext that construction of more than three-storey building was not possible at the previous place.
At this, the Pakistani community protested but to no avail. The former ambassador along with his special friend, ‘the carpet dealer’, formed an organization that helped divert Pakistanis attention away from the issue of sale of the embassy building and land.
It is also important to note that the import of goods like pulses, rice and spices from Pakistan to Japan has also recorded a decrease, and on the contrary the imports of the same items have seen an increase from India. There is a need to address problems being faced by the Pakistani community in Japan as early as possible.
Amjad Iqbal Janjua holds the view that the government must transfer the top officers of the Pakistani embassy as early as possible to help improve the situation and to promoted national interest in a real sense.