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Allama Muhammad Iqbal |
A Muslim philosopher, scholar, thinker, poet, reformer and biggest visionary of our time. |
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We are the proud ancestors of the man whose greatness is beyond the reach of our imagination and whose dreams are beyond the reach of our grasp. Yes we are talking about Great Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal who was born in the city of Sialkot on Friday November 9, 1877, exactly 130 years ago but whose thinking and philosophy is as true today as was 100 years ago. His dreams took the material shape in the form of an independent Muslim Nation, we call Pakistan.
Though he did not see the dawn of independence and the birth of the nation in his lifetime, but every one alive then and today clearly realizes it as the blessing of his vision and reward of his unflinching optimism in the future of Muslim Ummah.
We can only pray that we and our future generations can repay his debt by practicing what he preached and believed all his life.
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PARTICIPATE------PARTICIPATE-------PARTICIPATE |
PEHCHAAN is your identity and your Newsletter. It belongs to each member of PAKISTANI COMMUNITY and we want it to be true to its name and ideal. We want every Pakistani citizen living in UAE to participate in its forthcoming issues.
We invite each one of you who has a talent to write or a desire to send his thoughts, opinions, suggestions or contributions to be a part of our team. You will not only be welcome but oblige the editorial team by submitting your articles, features, stories, and humor relating to Pakistani’s life problems, contributions, ambitions, and achievements in UAE.
Every month Editorial Board of PEHCHAAN will select one “BEST FEATURE OF THE MONTH” and “THE CONTRIBUTOR” will be introduced to the community as “SOMEONE TO KNOW ABOUT” with photo and personal profile.
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Dialog in its real sense is the way forward. It is true, particularly when gaps between the expectations of patrons and the perceived quality delivered by service providers are the major agenda item. |
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“On Sunday, 11 November 2007, a lively outdoor gathering of hundreds of Pakistanis was organized by P.A.D at its premises to provide the community a unique opportunity for an open dialog with the officials of Overseas Pakistanis Foundation. Among the distinguished guests were Syed Nayyar Hasnain Haider, Managing Director; Mr. A. Asad Khan, Executive Director; and Mr. Bashir Abid, General Manager of OPF. His Excellency Abdul Hameed Choudhry the Consul General of Pakistan graced this function by his kind presence and a candid address.
In his introductory speech, Syed Nayyar Hasnain Haider, the recently appointed M.D. explained the organizational setup at OPF and assured of his personal commitment in bringing about a positive change in his organization.
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Afterwards, A. Asad Khan, the Executive Director of OPF, gave a detailed presentation giving the count of its accomplished projects as well as its future plans.
OPF, established in 1979, aims at advancing the social welfare of Pakistanis working or settled abroad and their families in Pakistan by identifying their problems and by contributing to their solutions.
The foundation’s program, exclusively for the benefit of overseas Pakistanis, includes:
- Establishment of educational institutions
- Establishment of housing colonies
- Economic rehabilitation and financial aid for families of deceased
- Health services
- Social services and assistance in distress
- Pension scheme
After the presentation, a Q&A session was held. A community member expressed his concerns about the lackluster performance of OPF, particularly on one of its housing projects with years of delay. Another conveyed his displeasure due to the fact that OPF’s previous M.D refused to accept a land donation for building a school. Some also admired the efforts of OPF, particularly in the field of education and stressed the need for many more such initiatives. Mr. Haider demonstrated a great deal of patience and restraint in answering all the questions.
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Pakistan Association Dubai hosted this year's Eid Milan Party at the PAD Grounds on the 15th of November. Pakistanis from all walks of life together with their families thoroughly enjoyed the evening. The atmosphere was electrified even more with the performance of the star ghazal singer Sagheer Ahmed Mir from Karachi. He entertained the crowd with famous Pakistani hits and kept receiving requests from the crowd till the wee hours of the morning.
The program started at 9 PM and had to be closed at the request of the PAD Management at 2 in the morning as the festive crowd wanted it to continue even further. As a little Pakistan, PAD comes alive whenever there is a function representing their beloved homeland with families mingling with each other in their bright and colourful dresses. There was a special dinner arrangement with a variety of mouth watering dishes with the compliments of PAD.
The event was made more interesting with a quiz competition.
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Gifts were distributed to all the children attending the event and special prizes were given to 3 couples. In particular a gift was given to an Indian couple who had their wedding anniversary on the 15th and had decided to celebrate it at the event.
Dear Countrymen, your encouragement and participation is required for events like these that are instrumental in keeping us in touch with our culture and heritage. Please make an effort to become a member of PAD so you can be a part of the regular invitees at events like these that are held throughout the year.
Eid Mubarak. |
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OPPORTUNITY TO WIN A FABULOUS PRIZE |
We are living and enjoying the vibrant, colourful and ever changing life of the wonderful city “ DUBAI” . This city means different things to different people. It has something for everyone. PEHCHAAN wants to show these different faces of the city through the eyes of the Camera. If you have the eye of a professional, the feel of an artist and heart of a lover you are invited to enter into the competition of submitting your version of DUBAI through your camera lens.
The person(s) depicting the characteristic photos telling some story about the life of this wonderful city will be declared as the winner of two exciting prizes sponsored by the PAD.
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He belongs to Rawalpindi. He landed in Dubai in July 2005 to join a security company as junior guard. This young man in his twenties was studying computer sciences at his home town and had an ambition to make his career in IT. Being a son of a retired soldier from the Pakistan Army, he could not afford to continue his studies and was compelled to provide sustenance for his family. He is the younger of two brothers and has two unmarried sisters. Qasim spent one and a half years with a security company and is now working with a logistic company as Warehouse In-charge. He recently won the "Best Employee Of The Quarter Award" due to his relentless pursuit for excellence and an unabating sense of responsibility.
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He resides in a room shared with three others in Deira. His day starts with Fajr Prayer and preparing breakfast for himself. He is very punctual and performs his duties in a disciplined manner with a pleasant smile. Despite driving a forklift, delivering huge pallets and loading/offloading trucks throughout the day, this young man always looks fresh. He works extended hours and commutes between home & work with public transport and yet he is always punctual. Inspite of laborious day he likes to prepare his own meals and his day ends with few moments of chat with his roommates. Though he has a passion for football, his hobbies are restricted to net surfing whenever he could steal time on weekends out of his busy routine.
He, as many others, is also struggling in coping with the ever rising cost of living here. Qasim has dreams to grow in life, he has ambitions to keep his studies continued and prosper in the IT field. He strongly believes and practices to accomplish every task with honesty & dedication without expecting additional rewards. His motto in life is to perform his duties honestly and with full dedication.
We wish our youth to perform in whichever field they go, continuously improve their capabilities, and contribute towards the betterment of our society.
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A dinner was hosted by the PAD in honour of the National Volleyball Team of Pakistan on the 18th of November. The team was visiting the UAE for the 4 Nation tournament that had the participating teams from Oman, Iran, UAE and Pakistan. Pakistan won the bronze medal in the game defeating the UAE at their home turf.
The dinner was attended by Pakistanis from all walks of life and gave a warm welcome to their national team. The chief guest for the occasion was H.E. Abdul Hameed Chaudhry, the Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In addition to the support from the Pakistanis, the C. G. thanked the team for their efforts and encouraged them to keep up the good work. Speeches were also made by the President of PAD, Mr. Riaz Farooq and the General Secretary of PAD, Mr. Syed Sabir Hussain.
In the end the manger of team Retired Col. Muhammad Nawaz Malik thanked the Pakistani community for gracing the occasion and the PAD for arranging the glorious event in their honor.
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The event was followed by a lavish dinner and group photographs.
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We all complain about not having time to do the right things. Time is beyond anyone's control. We only have 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week, and so on. Lot of our time is spent in trying to reach somewhere, waiting to meet someone, or waiting to get something done. During all these activities we spend our time brooding, complaining, or just simply doing absolutely nothing.
Couple of years ago I happened to go to a doctor to consult him about the illness of my child. It was a typical doctor’s waiting room where people were sitting and waiting for their turn to come.
There were all sorts of faces, young, old, males, and females, who were either busy turning the pages of old magazines or looking around with blank looks on their faces or being plainly bored. Only the silence was broken when the nurse used to come out to announce the name of the next patient. For a few moments there used to be some life in the room, then again used to go back to the usual same dead bored silence.
In these surroundings, one young man caught my attention who, oblivious to his surroundings, was busy reading from a pocket
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size QUR'AAN. For sometime I simply did not give him much thought, but when the minutes turned into hour, I started noticing the concentration of this young man. In the meantime the prayer call was made and we went for the prayer.
After returning from the mosque I told him that I have been noticing him for sometime and was very impressed by his way of utilizing his time. He said that whenever he gets some time like this or in the transport instead of simply getting bored and stressed he reads Qur'aan. This was suggested to him by one of his friends. He carries his Qur'aan with him and besides getting the blessing of reading the Holiest Book, he avoids wasting the precious and limited asset “Time” and gets to do what most of us do not get to do due to just not having the right approach about life.
Just imagine how much part of life is wasted in useless pursuits, which can be utilized to acquire something good for this life and the hereafter.
Sometimes small incidents like this change the focus of life and open the door of “HIDAYAT” for the commoners like us.
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Winners of Mobile Contest |
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Emad ul Islam Khan |
Fariha Kausar |
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PAD Objectives |
- To promote a positive image of Pakistan in the UAE
- To represent the true culture of Pakistan
- To encourage brotherhood among the community
- To provide a platform for community’s social and recreational
activities
- To create awareness of community issues and find solutions
through participation
- To establish liaison between PAD and Pakistan Consulate
- To prepare the young generation for future challenges by developing
their character and competence
- To enhance female participation in community affairs
- To provide a platform for clean and healthy entertainment
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