Fifth anniversary of HKSCA celebrated

HOUSTON: Mayor Annise Parker of Houston seems to be keen to lead a high profile business and investment delegation to Karachi and other cities of Pakistan; and to make this a fruitful reality, Consul General of Pakistan Afzaal Mahmood said.

Expressing his views at the 5th Anniversary Meeting of Board of Directors of the Houston Karachi Sister City Association (HKSCA), Afzaal Mahmood said: “We are public servants at the Consulate. We have a limited staff of seven to eight persons. That is not our whole team. Our Consulate's team includes all the organizations of Pakistan and all the Pakistanis in Houston & beyond, and we can work together to serve both USA & Pakistan.”

A Special cake was cut on this occasion to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the formation of HKSCA, which was accomplished with the signing of a MoU in 2009 between the then Mayor Bill White of Houston and Nazimae Aala Mustafa Kamal of Karachi at the City Hall in Houston.

Earlier, the Honorable Consul General, all the HKSCA Board Member and Guests were welcomed by President Muhammad Saeed Sheikh. Program started with invocation; adopting of the agenda; which was followed by the welcoming remarks of HKSCA President Mr. Sheikh.

In attendance at this meeting with the Honorable Consul General of Pakistan Afzaal Mahmood; held at a local Houston restaurant; included Commercial Attaché of Pakistan Fawad Shah; Ms. Tomiko Olah, Protocol Manager & Sister Cities Coordinator; Jensen Shen of the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP); the visiting member of KHSCA Muzaffar Khan with his friends; and majority of the board & committee chairs of HKSCA including President Muhammad Saeed Sheikh; Vice President Mohammad Zaheer; General Secretary Omar Khawaja; Board of Directors M. J. Khan; Syed Nayyar Izfar; Cristal Montañéz Baylor; & David Godwin; and Committee Chairs of Community Services & Media Affairs ILyas Choudry; Public Relations Matloob Khan; & Publications Amir Maqsood Khan; and Volunteers Rose Ashraf, Inayat Ashraf, Zafar Khan & Abdul Rauf Khan. Community Journalist of "Houston Nama - Pakistan News" Shamim Syed was also in attendance.

After the various reports about the history, educational, trade, cultural, healthcare, and humanitarian endeavors and future plans of HKSCA were presented.

Honorable Consul General Afzaal Mahmood gave some candid remarks, and suggestions, so that the work of HKSCA can be further enhanced:

HKSCA needs to maintain a good database, and share with the Consulate, so as to work as a team. There is need to promote food & culture of Pakistan; and for this, Consulate can provide In-Kind assistance to HKSCA, who should also involve the Pakistani Student Association (PSA), as without youth, sustainability of an organization is not possible, said Mahmood.

Karachi is the 17th Sister City of Houston and the 100th Muslim city to enter the overall Sister City network. The Sister City Association is a voluntary organization created in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of the Sister City International (SCI) organization. SCI's goal is to develop municipal partnerships between US cities, counties, and states with similar jurisdictions in other nations.

"The idea of enhancing the healthcare system in Karachi through tele-medicine between a major hospital in Karachi with a salient hospital in Houston is fantastic, and Consulate will facilitate it thorough the various ministries of Pakistan. Also Ambassador of Pakistan is expected to visit Houston in the month of June 2014. HKSCA should work towards getting the statue of Mr. Jinnah, Founding Father of Pakistan placed in Hermann Park, Houston; and assist to achieve the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Status with the US similar to recently accorded by the European Union to Pakistani trade,” said Consul General of Pakistan Afzaal Mahmood.

 

Pakistan Day celebrated with traditional zeal, fervour

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Day was celebrated throughout the country on March 23 (Sunday) with traditional fervour to commemorate the Lahore Resolution of 1940. During the day, special prayers were held for security and prosperity of the country at all places of worship.

The day dawned with a 31-gun salute in Rawalpindi and 21-gun salutes at all the provincial capitals. President Mamnoon Hussain along with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended a ceremony at the president house to mark the day. The two dignitaries hoisted the national flag at the presidency followed by national anthem and patriotic songs sung by children. Senate Chairman Nayyer Hussain Bukhari, Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, members of the federal cabinet, chiefs of armed forces and a large number of diplomats were present at the event.

A fleet of 12 fighter jets and nine helicopters from the Pakistan Air Force led by Wing Commander Ronald Afzal performed an eye catching and fantastic fly-past over the president house. Later an investiture ceremony was held at the presidency, in which President Mamnoon Hussain conferred awards on prominent personalities from various walks of life. Investiture ceremonies were also held in the provinces, while governors and chief ministers held receptions at the provincial capitals.

Pakistan’s flag was hoisted atop principal public and private buildings across the country. Flags were also hoisted on all Pakistani missions abroad during ceremonies attended by members of the Pakistani community. Messages of the president and prime minister to the nation were read out on the occasion.

Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah along with provincial ministers and legislators laid wreaths at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah to pay homage to the Founder of the Nation.Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other leaders felicitated the government and the people of Pakistan.

Television and radio stations broadcast special programmes and newspapers took out special supplements to highlight significance of the day. Seminars, poetry recitation events, exhibitions of photographs and documents relating to the Pakistan Movement, Qirat contests, debates and essay competitions were held in cities and towns.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Day was celebrated on Sunday across Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) with great enthusiasm traditional fervour and devotion.The day dawned with special prayers at Fajr in the mosques on both sides of LoC. The people from across LoC prayed for the stability security and swift progress of Pakistan. In AJK people celebrated the day in a befitting manner. Pakistan and AJK flags were hoisted atop small and major private and public buildings. Various private, social, political and public representative organizations had arranged special programmes to celebrate the day.

All the three Azad Jammu Kashmir radio stations of Mirpur, Muzaffarabad and Tararkheil aired special programmes highlighting the importance of the historic day of March 23 1940 when Muslims of the subcontinent unanimously decided to bring about separate homeland by passing the historic Pakistan Resolution.