The British Muslim Heritage centre (BMHC) and Consulate of Pakistan hosted a reception for 30 visiting, high achieving students from Pakistan.

The guests were welcomed by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, the Mayor of Pendle, Lord Nazir Ahmed, Tony Lloyd MP, Co chairmen of BMHC, Dr Hamad al Majid, Nassar Mahmood, Former Lord Mayor Afzal Khan, other key north West councillors and dignitaries from the region.

The 30 top position holders of Pakistan are on a three country visit: Turkey, Germany and the United Kingdom.

This is an official visit, supported by the Punjab government of Pakistan.

The aim is to allow students to experience different cultures and to see higher education establishments in these countries.

Each student was given a certificate of achievement on behalf of the BMHC and Manchester city by the dignitaries lead by Lord Mayor Councillor Harry Lions, said, “Manchester is a remarkable city with rich history and a proud record of achievement.

Our city aims for excellence in all that we do. We have played a major role in shaping the modern world and we retain the energy and drive to be a progressive force for change.

"Your attendance here fits well with the City of Manchester. I hope that many of you will choose Manchester for further higher education.”

The Consul General of Pakistan, Ehsan Ullah Bhattia, thanked BMHC and Councillor Afzal Khan for all their assistance in putting together an excellent programme for the students and advised the students to have faith in themselves and their county, and that in life hard work & merit will always succeed. Lord Nazir Ahmed praised the Punjab government of Pakistan for this very positive and important step of encouraging and acknowledging the talented students to see the wider world.

The visiting students were also given the opportunity to meet many role models from different fields of expertise as well as an opportunity to share the company of local young people and students. They were all served with a delicious dinner.

The dignitaries were thanked for attending the event and given bouquet of flowers by the Co chairmen of BMHC, Dr Hamad al Majid and Nassar Mahmood, The evening ended with a thank you by Councillor Afzal Khan.

He said, “It was a great and successful night, it was an honour to have the students at the centre, the purpose of the BMHC is to strengthen relations between Britain and the Muslim world, these students are part of the future world.

"It was great to see these young people receive the certificate and their success recognised and all of them enjoying the evening , leaving with a big smile on their face. It certainly was worth doing the event!”