LAHORE: World-renowned Pakistani fashion designer Mehmood Bhatti says he will soon complete his project to set up a fashion university in Lahore.

In a special talk with journalists, he said here Saturday that Pakistanis overseas and the younger generation are true assets for a country that must paint a positive image of its country in the world. He said Pakistan’s future was very bright, even though Prime Minister Imran Khan himself could not bring about a complete change in the country and he needed a team for that purpose.

He said that stealing fashion designs was the most cursed act and every Pakistani should play his part in it. He said that he was the first to start the fashion industry in Pakistan and he had set up a fashion school in Lahore and now he will complete his project to set up a fashion university in the city.

He said his services to the fashion industry were recognized worldwide; Pakistan awarded him Sitara-e-Imtiaz in addition to various awards given by at least 10 countries in the world. He said he has offices in 80 countries and wherever he goes he is recognized as a Pakistani which is an honor for him.

Mehmood Bhatti says she has a son and a daughter, who are considered the world’s top models. He said the children’s mothers were American, but the sons and daughters recognized themselves as Pakistani and they played their part in making their country famous amidst the goodness of the nation.

The famous fashion designer said a lot has changed in Pakistan now, and the country’s young generation loves all new fashion designs. He said the hospitality industry is becoming strong in Pakistan which is a good sign for the country’s fashion industry as well as its economy. He said he has recently taught at various Pakistani universities and he is also doing philanthropic work in the country.

He said he had built a new room at Fountain House, along with his ex-wife, who is an American citizen. He sponsored various student studies at Punjab University, and arranged for the mass wedding of 100 couples in the Northern Territory about three years ago.

She says she started her life from scratch and established herself as one of the world’s top fashion designers. He said when he first came to France, he acted as a scavenger. She said that she was not someone who would forget her past or feel ashamed of her past when she was penniless.

Mehmood Bhatti says Prime Minister Imran Khan is a conscientious man, who has no lust for wealth. He said he had known Imran Khan for the past 40 years, and as prime minister of Pakistan he struggled to steer the country out of poverty. However, he added, he (PM) needed a good team to make Pakistan stand tall in the world. He said he also knew Nawaz Sharif, and Benazir Bhutto was the politician who first brought him to Pakistan.

He said at least two lakhs of Pakistanis live in France, and it was not good that Pakistan had not appointed an ambassador to the country for the past nine months. He said the artists and singers were Pakistan’s ambassadors abroad. He said Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan had displayed a gentle image of Pakistan around the world, and that at least one street should be named after him in his city of Faisalabad.