For any society to progress it is a must to have the highest education possible for its
people. The strength of the western society as one knows is education. Recently,
Government of Pakistan has taken a very serious interest in higher education and as
a result many universities have sprung all over the country.
This coming weekend we will have the priviledge to meet many educators from Pakistan.
Many Rectors and Vice Chancellors from Pakistan are here and Pakistan Canada Association is hosting a dinner in their honour. Thirteen universities will be represented at this dinner. and we will have a chance to talk to all these very important people from Pakistan
I hereby invite all of you to be at

PAKISTAN HOUSE
12059 88th Avenue
Surrey, B.C

MAY 10, 2008
7:30 PM

TICKET FOR THIS DINNER WILL BE $20.00 PER PERSON

Please call me to confirm attendace at 778-229-0103
or e-mail me at alam_vap@yahoo.com

Deadline for RSVP is Friday May 8, 2008 by 9:00 am

Farrukh Alam
President

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

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

Please note that our Eid Mela has been cancelled because Eid may be celebrated on Wednesday December 19th.

Pakistan-Canada Association
Proudly Hosts
A Celebration of Sir Allama Mohammad Iqbal

Poetry, Prose and Reflections on the Life of One of Pakistan’s Greatest Personalities
Sunday November 11th, 2007
6 pm at Pakistan House (12059 88th Avenue, Surrey)
Light Refreshments will be served (no dinner)
Free Admission

Thursday October 11th at Pakistan House - Chand Raat

Eid Day - Namaaz at Pakistan House and Vancouver Jamia Masjid (8 am)

Sunday October 14th - Eid Milan Party at Pakistan House: Doors open at 6:30 pm, tickets are $10 per person (children 5 and under free)

Sunday August 19th will go down as a day to remember for many in the Pakistani community. The day long mela brought throngs of people to Pakistan House, many for the first time. For the first time the flags of both Pakistan and Canada were raised and flew proudly over Pakistan House and to top it off, Salman Ahmad of Junoon brought the crowd to an absolute frenzy with his energetic and patriotic music.

Thank you to everyone for attending this event and thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make this event a success.

On Sunday August 19th starting at 1:00 pm on the grounds of Pakistan House, Pakistan-Canada Association will be organizing a free outdoor Mela for all to enjoy. Food, clothing, jewellery, mehndi and much more will be available. Over 20 stalls will be setup outside Pakistan House (12059 88th Avenue, Surrey) and will be running throughout the day as part of Pakistan-Canada Association’s Independence Day celebration. In the evening inside Pakistan House, our very special guest and friend, Salman Ahmed (from the legendary Pakistani band Junoon) will be here to perform for us and join PCA in celebrating Pakistan’s 60 years of Independence. Tickets for this tremendous musical event are only $10 per person. More information can be found by calling Farrukh Alam at 604-276-2999 or Raza Mirani at 778-859-9469.

If you would like to book a stall for our outdoor Mela or would like to help volunteer at our event please call Farrukh Alam by Wednesday August 15th or e-mail us directly at info@pakcan.com.

Pakistan-Canada Association is pleased to invite you to attend our Annual Canada Day Celebration and Picnic. The event will be held on Sunday July 1st at King George Park in Richmond (Cambie and No. 5 Road). The start time will be 11:00 am. A potluck table will be setup for guests to bring a dish to share. Chicken and burgers will be provided by Pakistan-Canada Association. Games and sporting events will be organized for all ages and new this year will be a ‘6-a-side Cricket Tournament.’ If you are interested in joining our cricket tournament and have 5 other players to join you please contact Mr. Intekhab Ahmed at 604-502-9984. Come out and kick off the summer in grand fashion. For more information contact Farrukh Alam at 604-276-2999 or Mr. Jamil Chaudhry at 604-251-3717.

At 11:30 am on May 6th Pakistan-Canada Association held its Annual General Body Meeting at Vancouver Jamia Masjid. Outgoing President Raza Mirani chaired the meeting and welcomed everyone in attendance and thanked everyone for their hardwork and support during the past year. Election Committee member, Mr. Mumtaz Rana announced the following election results (all individuals were elected without opposition):

President: Farrukh Alam
Vice President: Syed Zakir Bokhari
General Secretary: Imran Gehlen
Treasurer: Raza Mirani
Director of Public Relations: Liaqat Bajwa
Directors: Malik Arfan, Tarik Kiani, Saqib Khan, Intekhab Ahmed

For the Islamic Trust the following trustees were elected: Sabir Pannun, Salim Karim, Jamil Chaudhry, Ihsan Malik and Haroon Khan.

The 2006-2007 Financial Statements were read and explained by Mr. Sabir Pannun and Mr. Raza Mirani. The statements were discussed in great detail with all members questions being answered.

A special item for this meeting was discussion of the Pakistan House Working Committee. It was agreed that the committee be reconstituted and given a new mandate to carry out their responsibilities in seeing this project through to completion. It was also agreed that funds be made available to carry out much needed renovations and purchase of tables and chairs to make Pakistan House a living, breathing, fully functional place for all Pakistanis to enjoy.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:45 pm.