Annual General Body Meeting of the association was held on January 19, 2008 at Tabeer Restaurant. During this meeting;
-
The association paid tribute to the memory of Benazir Bhutto and other victims of violence in Pakistan with words, pictures and prayer.
-
Recognized one of our own, Nuzaira Azam, an author, for her literary accomplishments in writing many books in Urdu, including her latest novel, Khawab Badosh, about Pakistani immigrants in the USA, for which she received the Ahmad Adaya International Urdu Award.
-
Held elections for 2008 in which Tahira Anwar and Irfan Malik were elected as Trustees and the Executive Council members elected were as follow; President - Sabir A. Rahman; Vice President - Anwar Goheer; Secretary - Jawaid Bashir; Treasurer - Mohammad Rafiq Azam
During the year, the Association responded to events that had serous impact on our community.
-
Issued a press release to respond to the situation following the events that resulted in the death of Benazir Bhutto and many other Pakistani citizens.
-
Responded to media requests for interviews.
-
Issued a press release to condemn the violence in Mumbai.
The association participated in a
prayer meeting that was organized by Inter Faith Conference of Metropolitan
Washington and Martin Luther King Support Group. It was held on January 13,
2008 at Mount Jezreel Baptist Church. As part of Regional King Celebration,
political situation in Pakistan was mentioned and prayer for peace in Pakistan
was led by President of our Association.
The Association organized a program on Democracy in Pakistan. Keynote address was by Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. Delegate Saqib Ali informed the members about legislative activities in the Maryland General Assembly. Representatives of Governor O’Malley, Senator Cardin and Congressman Van Hollen were in attendance. The main event was a panel discussion led by Faizan Haq, Manzur Ejaz and Khalid Hasan.
A discussion on Community Empowerment was held on May 24, 2008 at Rockville Library. During the event, Delegate Saqib Ali updated the members on legislative activities and explained what the community can do to empower itself through participation in the legislative process.
The Independence Day was celebrated on August 16, 2008. We were joined by very distinguished guests, Justice Rana Bhagwandas and Mrs. Bhagwandas (Ratna Devi), who made it very special. Justice Rana delivered an excellent paper on the Role of an Independent Judiciary in the Political Development of Pakistan.
Of
course, Chand Raat is our main event. The event has grown so much in
popularity with our community that the previous year we could not accommodate
every one who came. This year we moved the event to much larger facility,
Maryland Soccerplex, which can handle up to 3,000 people. Chand Raat was held
on Tuesday, September 30, 2008. It was middle of the week, weather was bad
with rain and fog that made for bad visibility and difficult to travel, and
the place was new and unfamiliar to people. Attendance was good but not as
good as we had hoped for. Our official count was about 1,250. Once again, we
provided continuous music, food for sale, Mehndi decoration services and a
large number of vendors who sold a large variety of merchandise. Other than
the fact that the attendance less than our hopes and expectations, the program
was very successful and everybody liked it.
Association participated in;
o A discussion on US Pakistan Relations organized by Pakistani American Congress at National Press Club on Feb. 29.
o A day on Capital Hill organized by Pakistani American Congress.
o Association members participated in an event honoring Congressman Andre Carson.
Some observations, once more;
o We have opportunity to empower our community through media and political activism, because our Association is well known and well respected in media and political circles. We are important but do not know it.
o We need to boost the spirit of volunteerism.
o We need to encourage young people to become active in community organization.