Pakistan-Canada Association held its Annual General Body Meeting today at Vancouver Jamia Masjid. The following announcement was made by the Election Committee, comprised of Mr. Mumtaz Rana and Mr. Saif Mehmood:

Community Trust:

President - Farrukh Alam
Vice-President - Malik Arfan
General Secretary - Raza Mirani
Treasurer - Liaqat Khan
Public Relations - Liaqat Bajwa
Directors: Imran Gehlen, Kamran Hayat, Farina Pannun, Afzal Bajwa

Islamic Trust:

Trustees: Sabir Pannun, Ihsan Malik, Jamil Chaudhry, Haroon Khan, Munir Riasat

Pakistan-Canada Association and its membership also approved a new North Vancouver Chapter which will run the new North Shore Islamic Center. Pakistan-Canada Association is pleased to be serving the Muslim community of the North Shore and welcome this expansion to our ever-growing association.

Pakistan Canada Association - Literary Guild presents its First Annual Mushairah (Poetry Meeting) to be held on Saturday April 26, 2008 (6:00 PM) at Pakistan House (12059 88th Ave, Surrey).

Expected Poets are:

Shams Jilani, Hafeez Qadri, Zahid Laeeq Butt, Narinder Bhagi, Pandat Devadi, Mohammad Fazil, Nusrat Hussain, Bhupinder Dhaliwal, Nadeem Parmar, Surinder Kalsi, Capt Suleman Mahtab, Afzal Malik, Mohammad Rafiq, Mansoor Gill, Feroz Gill, Capt. Mansoor Khan, Afzal Bashir Bajwa and many more.

Program Details:

1: Dinner upon arrival
2: Break for Maghrib Prayer
3: Mushairah

FREE ADMISSION (children under 15 not permitted)

Please Contact:

Farrukh Alam: 778-229-0103
Afzal Bashir Bajwa: 604-590-7100
Malik Irfan: 604-543-2680

The Building Tomorrow Together Youth Conference will tackle issues of great concern to Muslim youth (Islamic identity, drugs, gangs, alcohol, music, time management, boy-girl relationships, parent-teen communication,civic obligations, individual rights and responsibilities, etc.
And develop strategies and action plans to motivate our youth to better themselves.

Featuring - Napoleon Former member of Tupac’s hip-hop group ‘The Outlawz’ and

Baba Ali Ummah Films first video blog series, “The Reminder,” has been a major success with more than two million page views on You Tube alone

Date: May 10th, 2008
Venue: Crystal @ York Banquet & Convention Centre
210 - 12888 80th Ave. SURREY, BC
************
Youth Conference
(8:00 AM - 6:00 PM):
$20 for Youth (13 years up to 30) for all day event
Including: meals, conference and evening program
ON-Line Registration

Evening Program (open to the Community)
(7:30 PM - 11:00 PM):

$30 / ticket
Including: Dinner
For More info. Call:
Br. Irshaad: 604.773.0094
Br. Nabeel: 778.866.6227
Sr. Erin: 778.239.4428
For sponsorship Package please call: Br. Ali 604-518-0606

A program has been organized for the education of our children about the life and the teachings (Seerat) of our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

Day & Date: Sunday – April 13, 2008
Time: 2:00pm
Venue: Pakistan House – Scott Road and 88th Avenue, Surrey
Format:

-Recitation from the Holy Qur’an
-Naat-e- Rasool-e-Maqbol
-Speeches
-Quiz: Age group: 4 to 10 years ( about the life of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) - Age group: 11 to 14 years ( Knowledge of Qur’an and hadith)
-Speech by the chief guest
-Conclusion and Daw

Mrs. Moin-ul-Haq, the wife of Consul General of Pakistan, Vancouver will be the Chief Guest. Refreshment will be served. Participation by Registration only. Please register by April 10, 2008.

For further information please contact:

Dr. Zanbka Malik
Organizer
Tel: 604-572-8776
Email: zanbkamalik@hotmail.com

It is with shock and deep sadness that we inform you of the passing of Mr. Harold Dias, brother of the late singer Saleem Raza, on Sunday March 30th at 4:30 am. He passed away in hospital from heart failure. Funeral arrangements have been made for Saturday April 5th at 1 pm at the location listed below:

Hindi-Punjabi Fraserview Gospel Chapel
14630- 107A Avenue, Surrey, BC.
Phone: 604-582-2650

Mr. Dias was a stalwart of Pakistan-Canada Association from its inception serving on the Board of Executives for years and as Master of Ceremonies for countless events featuring the best Pakistani talent. Many of you may know him from Rhim Jim Radio and his on air persona of Haroon Sikander. Mr. Dias always had music in his heart and recently made a point to release many of his rare and one-of-a-kind recordings. It is with deep regret that we say goodbye to him. May God keep him in Peace, Amen.

All current PCA memberships will expire March 31st, 2008. Please contact a current PCA executive to renew or use our Online Membership system and pay conveniently using PayPal.

On March 23rd, Consul General Moin Ul Haque generously donated $2000 towards the continued renovation of Pakistan House. For those of you that attended our March 23rd event you probably noticed some significant changes, in particular the ceiling and fresh paint on the interior walls.

We are approximately 85% completed with only the floor and in-house sound system left to be done. It is our intention to have Pakistan House up and running fully by the end of the year and in a position where it can be utilized fully by the community as a whole. Please help us achieve this goal by donating towards this important cause.

Pakistani Canadian Blood Donor Camp: Saturday March 29th, 2008

Surrey Blood Donor Clinic: #10 6830 King George Highway from 9 am to 3:30 pm

Contact: Afzal Malik at 604-518-4459 or Arif Sheikh at 604-518-7867 to book your appointment

Become a Muslim Foster Parent: There is a dire need in our community for Muslim Foster Parents. Situations have arisen where Muslim children are placed in non-Muslim homes with disastrous results. With over 100,000 Muslims in B.C. only 1 Muslim Foster Home has been registered to date. This is not enough. Please consider becoming a foster parent.

Contact: Waqar Ahmad at 604-729-1009 or David Daud Ali at 604-525-7194

Demographic Survey of Pakistanis in British Columbia: This initiative has been spearheaded by the Office of the Consul General of Pakistan to Vancouver. Survey forms were distributed at our March 23rd event. If you have a form and wish to submit it you can mail it to the following address:

Consul General of Pakistan
1444 - 400 Burrard Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6C-3G2

All information is kept in strict confidence by the Consul General’s Office. Please take the time to fill out these forms and submit them. It is vitally important that an accurate reflection of the number of Pakistanis residing in B.C. is established as well as their individual skill sets. If you did not receive a form you can download a PDF version by clicking the link below:

Demographic Survey of Pakistanis in B.C.

Launch of New Pakistani TV Show: Kal Kahan - Ab Yahan produced and hosted by Adeel Suhrwardy launched on Sunday March 23rd at 2:30 pm and will air every Sunday and Wednesday at 2:30 pm on Channel M.

To contact Adeel call 778-321-0176

Over 1000 people came to Celebrate Pakistan’s Republic Day at Pakistan House. An inspring and emotional National Anthem and Flag Raising performance by 17 local Pakistani Children, dressed in Pakistani, Canadian and Aboriginal dress kicked off the event and energized the capacity crowd with energy and emotion.

Dinner was served prior to the formal program beginning. Speeches from President Farrukh Alam, Pakistan House Chairman Sabir Ali Pannun and Counsel General Moin Ul Haque preceded the performances of our two featured performers.

AKS featuring frontman Ali Zaidi of Sohni Dharti Pakistan started off with some National Songs to bring the crowd to their feet. A few technical glitches hampered the performance somewhat but the crowd was there to have a good time and a good time was had all around. AKS would come back to an encore performance to round out the event and finish on a high.

Having flown in that morning from Pakistan, Lawyer turned Pakistani Hip-Hop Artist, Omer Inayat was struck by the magnitude of the event and the crowd that had gathered. He repeatedly thanked the crowd for their enthusiasm especially the throngs of youngsters gathered at the foot of the stage, reacting to every lyric and motion. Going through his hits and a few variations of his hits Omer fed off the enthusiam of the audience and performed a spirited 7 song set.

As with all events, this one could not have been put together without the tireless efforts of a mountain of volunteers and sponsors. A very special thanks to the children and parents who perfected the Pakistani and Canadian National Anthems and to the volunteers that brought Pakistan House to life. And of course, thank you for attending and being part of a ground breaking and awe-inspiring event.

Photos taken by Amir and Yasir Mirani

Pakistan-Canada Association held a memorial service and press conference for the late Benazir Bhutto, who was brutally assassinated on Thursday December 27th. A book of condolences was made available for people to express their grief and admiration for the late Benazir Bhutto. A few prepared comments were made by President Farrukh Alam and Trustee Haroon Khan and then the floor was opened for comments from the public. MLA Harry Bains, Penny Pridy expressed their sadness and expressed their hope for democracy to prevail in Pakistan. Members of the Indian community showed their solidarity and support of the Pakistani community and members of the Pakistani community expressed their admiration, love and devotion for a great Pakistani leader. A question and answer session was held with members of the media and general public which lasted approximately 45 minutes. Global TV, CBC, CTV, Channel M, News Radio 1130, Radio India, Asian Star, Miracle Newspaper, Canada Times and several other media outlets were in attendance. Pakistan-Canada Association wishes to thank those members of the community for attending our memorial service and for sharing in the grief and sorrow that has not only gripped Pakistan but the World.

Links to media reports will be provided as they become available:

Radio Canada Telejournal

mytelus news service

News 1130

CBC.ca

News 1130 2nd Article

CKNW 980

Canada.com

CBC.ca Memorial Service Article

Globe and Mail

Abbotsford News