Yasir Bashir, a Pakistani-American, has become the first Muslim Assistant Chief of Police in the USA. He has been appointed as the Assistant Chief of Houston Police, as head of the family violence department.
Bashir was also featured in the National Geographic feature on Muslims in America in 2018. Yasir Bashir belongs to Punjab in Pakistan and came to the United States of America in 1985 when he was only 8 years old. He joined the police force in 2008 and was in the police academy.
Yasir Bashir, a Pakistani-American commander, was appointed Assistant Chief of Houston Police as Head of the family violence department. Bashir will be the first Muslim assistant chief of police in the United States 🇺🇸. #USEmbassyIslamabad #PakistaniAmericans pic.twitter.com/UN9D3qNK9d
— U.S. Embassy Islamabad (@usembislamabad) April 17, 2021
In a conversation with a Pakistani media outlet, Bashir said that someone advised him to try for police when he was studying finance and should continue if he likes to. Adding that, he decided to stay in the police force because it allowed him to have a positive impact on others.
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He said that he decided to stay in the police force on the very first day. He studied finance for three years but returned to school to study criminology.
When asked about why he chose to continue with this profession when medicine and engineering are the more popular career choices, he said, “You should do what you like. Besides, being in the police enables you to help the community.”
Regarding discrimination and racism, he said that “Houston is very different, and has a truly diverse and open culture. It’s one of the best cities in the US. I received so much love and affection from my fellow officers that I will disagree with the suggestion.”
He added that the department was considerate towards Muslim officers as they give them proper breaks for prayers, iftar, and dinner.
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In his interview, he revealed that Houston Police Department has more desi officers from Pakistan and India and several of them are deep undercover.