Pakistani Achievers

[MohammedA]

Admin:

Could we please setup a sticky for this thread. Post any news on Pakistanis overseas and in Pakistan who have won awards or been recognised for their services, i.e doctors, scientists, police, military, etc.

[MohammedA]

Pakistani American Among Top Ten US Cops
NCPA
WASHINGTON: Oct 31 - Out of 23,000 police officers in the United States, ten were proud award recipients in 2003, one amongst them being a Pakistani-American, Police Officer Muzaffar Siddiqi of the Houston Police Department.
The ten top cops received the top Law Enforcement Awards at a ceremony held at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“Officer Siddiqi represents both what’s good about America and how the Muslim and Asian communities are enriching our lives as Americans,” said Faiz Rehman, President of the National Council of Pakistani Americans (NCPA). Calling him a role model for the immigrant communities, Mr. Rehman said, “In a very short period of time, Officer Siddiqi through sheer hard work and good work ethics has made a name for himself at the national level.”
The Top Law Enforcement Award in the country is given in recognition of exceptional police work.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and Parade Magazine have selected Officer Muzaffar Siddiqi from nominations submitted nationwide for recognition in their 2003 Police Officer of the year program. The police officer of the year award symbolizes the highest level of achievement among police officers in the country.
IACP is the world’s oldest and largest nonprofit membership organization of police executives, with over 19,000 members in over 89 different countries. IACP’S leadership consists of the operating chief executives of international, federal, State, and local Law Enforcement agencies of all cadres.
Siddiqi is a former inspector at the 'Eagle Squad' of Karachi, and has so far earned a number of distinctions. He migrated to the US in 1989, and is in the Houston Police Department since 1997.
Siddiqi is the first American Muslim and the first of Pakistani descent to earn this high Distinction. The award is a great honor for our community.
He has received numerous awards including Officer of the year in 2000 by Houston Police Department, U.S. Congressional Recognition, State of Texas Law Enforcement Achievement Award by Governor Rick Perry, Four Chief Commendations by former Houston Police Chief C.O.Bradford, Officer Of the Month Award from the American Society of Industrial Security, and the Bravo Award from the City of Houston Mayor Lee P. Brown.
The End.

[MohammedA]

Beacon Fellowship award for 15-year-old British-Pakistani

By Rehan Aslam

LAHORE: Fifteen-year-old British Pakistani vocalist Sarah Francis was chosen from among 765 people, many of them already rich and famous in their fields, to receive the prestigious Beacon Fellowship “Young Philanthropist” award.

She was awarded alongside millionaire entrepreneur Zac Goldsmith, son of the late Sir James Goldsmith. Winners from other sections include giants such as 88-year-old John Profumo, former war minister in Winston Churchill’s cabinet chief advisers. The only other Asian winner was 70-year-old Lord Amir Bhatia of Hampton, who was rewarded for his work on behalf of ethnic minority charities and causes in the United Kingdom.

Sarah was recognised for her philanthropic work to raise the profile of Afghan refugees in Pakistan using her unusual song “Voice of Freedom” as the focal point for a number of fund-raising concerts, as well as CD and calendar sales.

She raised over £12,000 in a year, which she presented in June 2003 to President Pervez Musharraf for the President’s Relief Fund for Afghan Refugees. The song also promotes the central values of Pakistan, faith, unity and discipline, by using a sampled recording of the voice of Jinnah himself speaking those very words in 1948 in Peshawar.

Through this song, Sarah has therefore been able to simultaneously educate her army of listeners (primarily in the English-speaking world), introduce many of them to Jinnah and his message, present Pakistani values in a positive light, and highlight the plight of a largely forgotten two to three million Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Her pioneering approach to charitable work so impressed the Beacon Fellowship judges, Sarah earned a trip to Downing Street in January 2004, where she will receive her award from the Chancellor of the Exchequer Honourable Gordon Brown. Chancellor Gordon Brown is no ordinary man.

[MohammedA]

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Communit...b04/06/08.html

Physician of the Year’ Award for Pakistani

Washington, DC: Dr. Attique Samdani, a noted physician of Pakistani origin, is to receive the ‘Physician of the Year Award’ says an announcement of the Physicians Advisory Board of the National Congressional Committee.


The selection is based on performance during the preceding year. The Award is presented to outstanding medical professionals at a formal ceremony, where Republican Members of the US Congress and Administration officials along with physicians are invited, followed by a daylong seminar on medical practice, medicare/medicaid reform.

[MohammedA]

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Communit...n04/09/10.html

First Pakistani-American Mayor of Baskin Ridge

New Jersey: Mohammad Ali Chaudry has been sworn in as the first Pakistani-American Mayor of the town of Baskin Ridge in New Jersey State. Formal name of the township is Bernard Township.


The Mayor’s Reception was held at the Bernards Township Community Center, which Ali helped build in 1996-1997.


Ali has been active in local politics since 1988. Sahiwal-born Ali, left Pakistan in 1963 to study at the London School of Economics, and after completing his four-year course, came to the United States in 1967 and earned a Ph. D. in Economics from Tufts University in Michigan State (1972).


He served the long distant AT&T Company for 30 years and retired in 1998. He worked with AT&T from 1968 to 1998 in the Strategic Planning and CFO organizations, and also served as CFO of the Public Relations Division.


Ali entered politics in 1988 . Dr. Chaudry was elected to the Bernards Township Board of Education (1990 to 1995). He worked for the Board of Education long-range projection enrollment plan. In five years he was elected three times.


Ali contested the Township Council seat elections in November 2001, and despite the rise in hatred against Pakistanis after the Sep.11 attacks, secured 59% votes and won the Council seat till 2005.


The council involves rotation among its winning Council members every two years and public chooses five Council members to be elected as Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Ali was elected Deputy Mayor for the year 2003, and Mayor for 2004.He relinquished his Deputy Mayor charge on Dec.31.03.


He is a member of the economics faculty of the University of Phoenix Online and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Raritan Valley Community College.


Ali is a member of the Board of Directors of Somerset County Cultural Diversity Coalition and has been appointed to the Family Services of Morris County Board of Managers. Dr. Chaudry is a co-founder of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey, one of the first major Islamic centers in the state and served as President of the American Islamic Academy in Boonton for more than 10 years.


Dr. Chaudry served as President of the American Muslim Alliance New Jersey Chapter and led the efforts to educate the Muslim American community in political participation.


Since the September 11 tragedy, Dr. Chaudry has been active in interfaith dialogs and creating bridges of understanding among the American and Pakistani community at large


Speaking with NNI Ali said, “I am delighted to be in a position where I would be seen as an example of Pakistani- Americans. It’s the best way to serve as Ambassador of Pakistan.” He added, “We would be seen in a much more positive light.”

[MohammedA]

http://www.pakdef.info/forum/showthread.php?t=5101

[MohammedA]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-2-2004_pg2_16

Pakistan’s Zahid in Canadian cricket team

ISLAMABAD: Sargodha-born Pakistani Canadian Zahid Hussain has been included in the Canadian national cricket squad.

According to Voice of America, left-arm leg-spinner Zahid Hussain is the second Pakistani included in the squad. The International Cricket council (ICC) Qualifying Tournament will commence in Dubai and Sharjah from February 29. Besides Canada, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Holland, Scotland, Namibia and USA will also participate in the tournament. Another Pakistani-Canadian Umer Bhatti is leading the Canadian Under-19 cricket team in Bangladesh currently. —APP

[MohammedA]

This is
LONDON
26/02/04 - News and city section

Bashir lured to US by $1m deal
By Tariq Tahir, Evening Standard

Broadcaster Martin Bashir has been lured to the United States by a $1 million deal, it emerged today.

The 41-year-old, who made his name through controversial interviews with the Princess of Wales and Michael Jackson, is to leave ITV for the ABC network.

He will take over from veteran current affairs presenter Barbara Walters, who is retiring from ABC's long-running weekly news show 20/20.

Bashir will leave Granada when his contract expires in July and is expected to fill her role doing confessionalinterviews with high-profile public figures.

His Living With Michael Jackson - an edition of the Tonight show - was named programme of the year at the Royal Television Society's journalism awards on Tuesday.

In it the singer admitted sharing a bed with children at his Neverland ranch - a confession that prompted California prosecutors to investigate allegations of abuse against him. He has since been charged with molesting a 12-year-old boy he was seen holding hands with in the film.

But the programme, which attracted 14 million viewers in Britain and 27 million in the U.S, was dogged by controversy after Jackson claimed Mr Bashir induced him into making comments that were taken out of context.

The singer later released his own video footage of the interview in which Mr Bashir appeared to win his confidence by telling him how impressed he was with the love Jackson has for his children.

Jackson has since called the allegations of child molesting "a big lie," saying he did not share a bed with the boy. He faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

Jackson has also launched a legal action against Mr Bashir, claiming he was betrayed by the portrayal of him in the programme.

During Mr Bashir's 1995 interview with Diana for the BBC's Panorama, the Princess famously revealed "there were three people in this marriage" - a reference to her husband Prince Charles's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.

That programme has also come under fire, with the Duchess of York last year claiming Mr Bashir duped her former sisterinlaw into giving the intimate answers she did.

Mr Bashir has worked for Tonight since it started in 1999.

Last year his Millionaire - A Major Fraud about the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire cheat Major Charles Ingram - was seen by 15 million people, the biggest audience for a factual programme since 1997.



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Find this story at http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/a...7102?version=1
©2004 Associated New Media

[MohammedA]

This is
LONDON
27/02/04 - London news section

The first Asian woman MP?
By Ben Leapman, Evening Standard, Political Reporter

When she arrived in Britain she spoke no English and faced racist taunts at school. Today she is in pole position to become the country's first Asian woman MP.

Yasmin Qureshi was nine when she moved from Pakistan to Watford with her family in 1972. She was shocked by the prejudice and the freezing weather.

But she went on from state school to university and a career as a high-flying barrister. Now she could be on her way to Parliament after she was confirmed as Labour candidate for Brent East.

Ms Qureshi, 40, told the Standard she had a lot to overcome when she began her new life in Britain. She said: "I didn't speak any English, although I knew the alphabet. We used to get name-calling, the usual kind of things. Some of the kids would call out 'Pakis'. At that age you don't realise the full significance. I had to work harder to prove myself."

Her teachers were "not particularly encouraging", she said, but she thrived academically - with her engineer father and housewife mother urging her on.

"I would say that my parents have been the anchor and the backdrop," she said.

Ms Qureshi is single and lives with her 71-year-old widowed mother, just down the road from her barrister sister and bus-driver brother.

If she succeeds in ousting Lib-Dem Sarah Teather from Brent East at the next election she will also become the first Muslim woman in the Commons.

Family and religion are the cornerstones on which her politics is built.

She said: "I get pained when I read the way Islam is written about, because I understand my religion pretty well, and all religions - Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism - talk about responsibility to the community at large. We are not just here for our individual selves, we have responsibility to others, and that's the way I have been brought up."

Last week Labour announced that Ms Qureshi had failed by two votes to win selection in Brent East. She was furious and accused the party at the time of "rigging" the result.

Labour's ruling national executive investigated, found that valid votes for her had been wrongly rejected by local officials, and awarded her the nomination.

The officials who rejected the votes were supporters of her rival Robert Evans. But she refuses to endorse claims by her own backers that she was the victim of an anti-Muslim plot.

As a lawyer, she has worked for the Crown Prosecution Service and served a stint with the United Nations in Kosovo.

On the sensitive question of asylum she said: "I'm really sad at the hysterical debate that goes on with immigration."

Asked whether David Blunkett had racheted up tension with hardline policies like housing asylum seekers in accommodation centres, she choose her words carefully. "I don't think he would do anything, actually... to set out to harm anyone..."

In a year or two, Ms Qureshi will be pitched into a tough battle for Brent East - the seat long represented at Westminster by Ken Livingstone. She may find that a stance slightly askew from the Government's is no bad thing.



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Find this story at http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/l...6032?version=1
©2004 Associated New Media

[MohammedA]

Robbers guilty of murdering man who chased them
By Paul Stokes
(Filed: 03/03/2004)


A father and son face life in prison for shooting dead a public-spirited man who pursued their getaway car from an armed robbery.

Barry Elener, 42, was convicted yesterday of murdering Tasawar Hussain, 36. His father Derek Elener, 65, who was involved in a nine-year crime wave in which he stole £190,000, had earlier admitted the same charge.

Mr Hussain, whose wife was four months pregnant, was "calmly and deliberately" shot at point blank range after following the robbers. The judge at Leeds Crown Court said: "He and his friend Azram Hussain acted spontaneously in the interests of the public and without thought for their own safety."

Mr Hussain's widow Naila, 34, and members of her family were in court to hear the verdict. Adjourning sentence until March 12, Mr Justice Wakerley turned to her in the public gallery as he described her husband as a "brave man" and praised the family for their dignity throughout the month-long trial.

The prosecution said Barry Elener, a former soldier who had just become a father himself, climbed out of the Nissan getaway car, leaned over the roof and shot Mr Hussain through the heart.

Mr Hussain was a passenger in a BMW being driven by Azram Hussain, his best friend and neighbour, when they responded to shouts to follow two men who had just robbed a security guard. The judge said: "It would have been very easy for them to have driven on without a thought, but they did not and that brave man has lost his life."

Mr Hussain was killed minutes after the guard was robbed at gunpoint of £40,000 from Madina Travel in Manningham, Bradford, in January last year. Derek Elener, who once worked for Securicor, also admitted three attempted murders, 12 robberies, 12 firearms offences and three of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

A handgun used in the murder had been linked to 12 armed robberies carried out in the Bradford area between November 1994 and January 2002, the court heard. The first 10 robberies involved guards from Securicor and on four occasions shots were fired at guards, three of whom were seriously injured.

Barry Elener was convicted of the robbery in Manningham, another involving £15,000 at a Co-op store in Bradford two months earlier and possessing a firearm at both crimes. He was cleared of the remaining charges.

Neither father nor son had lavish lifestyles - both living in rented council houses in Bradford - and did not have criminal records. Barry Elener, who served in the Royal Artillery, has a wife Yvonne, 30, and baby daughter, Kelsey. His brother Gary is a serving police officer.

Mr Hussain was born in Pakistan, came to England as a boy, worked for a car valeting company and had been married for six years. He had a daughter Haarisah, now six. Mrs Hussain gave birth to their second child Rafia in June.

She said her family had been "ripped apart" by the murder. "The people who did this didn't think twice about taking his life and the ripples of what they have done have ripped through our family."

[MohammedA]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-3-2004_pg7_10

WHO award for Shaukat Khanum

LAHORE: The World Health Organisation has awarded the United Arab Emirates Foundation Prize for 2004 to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, according to a press release Thursday.

The formal presentation of a $20,000 cheque and plaque will be made at the plenary session of the 57th World Health Assembly in Geneva this May. The award was made on the recommendation of the UAE Health Foundation selection panel.

Previous winners of the award include Medicines Sans Frontiéres. —APP

[MohammedA]

The man who created the Sears tower in Chicago...........


Fazlur R. Khan (1929-1982)
“The Technical man must not be lost in his own Technology. Life is art, drama, music…and, most importantly, people.”

— Fazlur Khan, inscription on a plaque in the lobby of the Ontario Center, the last building he designed.

Fazlur Rahman Khan was “the father of modern-day tall buildings.” His creative yet realistic designs helped make high-rise construction possible in the 1960s and 1970s and are a legacy to today’s engineers. Khan helped create structures such as the John Hancock Center and the Sears Tower. (For more information on these innovative structures, visit: www.skyscrapers.com.) These projects utilize a tubular system method of construction that Khan popularized. The Hancock Center features a braced tube and the Sear Tower uses a bundled tube. Both feature shear wall frame interaction systems and composite tubes. Khan’s work also spreads far beyond Chicago to places like Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he designed the Haj Terminal, the building that boasts the world’s largest tent-style fiberglass roof.

Khan graduated first in his undergraduate civil engineering class in 1950 from Bengel Engineering College in India. In August of that year, he began to work for the East Pakistan government as an assistant engineer with the Communications and Buildings Department. There he worked to create reinforced concrete bridges and buildings. The following year Khan began teaching at the Ahsanullah Engineering College. He stayed there until 1952, when the University of Illinois awarded him a Fulbright Scholarship. Khan’s studies led to a Master of Science degree in theoretical and applied mechanics. He also earned a Master of Science degree and eventually a doctorate in structural engineering.

Khan joined the engineering firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in August of 1955, where he oversaw the design of seven highway and railroad bridges for the U.S. Air Force Academy. In 1957, he become an executive engineer for the Karachi Development Authority in Pakistan. Khan returned to Chicago and SOM in 1960. Five years later, Khan began work on the John Hancock Center, which was completed in 1969. Khan then set his sights on projects like the Sears Tower, which was completed in 1974, and the Ontario Center, which was not completed until four years after his death.

Khan was recognized for his monumental accomplishments. He was named one of Engineering News-Record’s “Men Who Served the Best Interests of the Construction Industry” in the years 1965, 1968, 1970, 1971 and 1979. The publication also named him “Man of the Year” in 1972. In 1973, Khan was elected into the National Academy of Engineering. That same year, he received AISC’s J. Lloyd Kimbrough Award, the Institute’s top honor. With tall buildings as his trademark, Fazlur Khan set a high standard for generations to come.

To learn even more about this extraordinary man, AISC encourages you to please visit the wonderful website his daughter, Yasmin Sabina Khan, has created in Fazlur Khan's honor at http://www.fazlurrkhan.com. There you will find out more about Fazlur Khan, his innovations, his milestones and his daughter.

[MohammedA]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...5-3-2004_pg7_9

Pakistani students get top marks in 14 O Levels, 3 A Levels

LAHORE: Pakistani students got the top marks in 14 O Level subjects and three A level subjects for he June 2003 exams, the British Council said on Sunday.

Dr Fred Burke of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) said the results were “excellent once again”. He said the CIE was introducing two new O Level subjects for next year, Environmental Management and Travel and Tourism.

Over 12 thousand sat the Cambridge General Certificate English O Level examinations this year compared to 10,139 in June 2002. Pakistani students got the highest marks in 14 subjects compared to 13 subjects in 2002.

There were significant improvements in Additional Mathematics, Art, Business Studies, Economics, English Literature, Human and Social Biology, Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies.

For the Cambridge A and AS Level examinations, there were 6,984 students as compared to 5,459 in June 2002. This year, Pakistani students were top in the world in three subjects, one less than last year. The most significant improvement was in Art and Design, Computing, Further Mathematics and Sociology.

The CIE is a division of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES). UCLES is part of the world famous and prestigious University of Cambridge. The CIE qualifications are taken in over 150 countries across the world and attract global recognition from educational institutions and employers alike.

The details of the top candidates will appear in the Cambridge publications ‘Brilliance in Pakistan June 2003’, which will be available in October to the 270 educational institutions in Pakistan registered with the CIE.

Top in the world in the GCE O Level Examination in various subjects were Zawar Munawar Saleemi (City School, Karachi), Hooria Munawar (Beaconhouse School, Lahore), Asma Hamid (Karachi Grammar School), Sana Mansoor Mahmood (Beaconhouse School, Lahore), Farheen Masood Baghpatee (Foundation Public School, Karachi), Shaikh Zubairuddin Nizami (Karachi International School), Mirza Omair Baig (British Council, Karachi), Daniyal Hussain (KGS), Hamna Zubair (City School, Karachi), Samuel Abid Nunes (KGS), Sidra Majid (Lahore Grammar School), Anam Farhat (Convent of Jesus and Mary, Lahore), Naira Saeed (KGS), Salman Gul (Beaconhouse School, Lahore) and Zawar Munawar Saleemi (City School, Karachi).

Mehwish Javed (LGS), Mohammad Asim Maan (Beaconhouse School, Faisalabad), Umar Javed (Crescent Model School, Lahore), Amna Mohyuddin Chaudhry (British Council, Multan), Maleeha Rizwan (Beaconhouse School, Islamabad) and Mohammad Zohaib Naeem (City School, Karachi) got distinctions in the O Level exams.

The GCE A Level global toppers were Saba Shaikh (Beaconhouse School, Karachi), Zara Liaqat (Beaconhouse School, Lahore) and Ayesha Ali (Lahore Grammar School, Lahore).

The Pakistan A Level toppers were Syed Imran Ali Shah (St Patrick’s High School, Karachi), Zahra Hashmat (The Lyceum School, Karachi), Momin Saulat Siddique (Aitchison College, Lahore), Sabreen Aziz Baig (LGS), Seher Niazi (LGS), Maria Kamal (KGS), Roomasa Channa (KGS), Hafsa Ahsan (Foundation Public School, Karachi) and Nida Anwer (Foundation Public School, Karachi). —Staff Report

[uazim]

World record by Pakistani woman cricketer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/sport/stor...ecord_am.shtml

[MohammedA]

Pakistani engineer gets award in uSA:

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Communit...h04/19/04.html

[MohammedA]

http://www.pakdef.info/forum/showthread.php?t=5265

[MohammedA]

Somebody (not me) has setup the same thread and same posts on Pakistanidefence.com website, and also put it up as a "sticky"!

[Gulstan]

An achiever for the wrong reasons

http://www.mpacuk.org/mpac/data/de0e62c3/de0e62c3.jsp

Shabana Khan Expose

MP abandons Muslims for Zionists!



It takes very little for anything to shock us at MPAC but even we were left open mouthed when we discovered the unbelievable truth about a particular British Muslim MP.

Regular MPACers will know of our dim views on Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry bar, but the man’s actions in Parliament beggars belief.

During our political research, we discovered that Khalid Mehmood had added his name to an Early Day Motion calling for ant-Semitism to be countered.

So it becomes apparent that the man can add his name to EDMs here and there as he wishes. Fair enough – this is why we began our search for his signature on EDMs against the oppression of Muslim people. And what did we find? Nothing! EDM 328 on the Human Rights of Muslims in Uzbekistan has so far 57 signatures of MPs and includes the all important words:

'no government has the right to use the war against terrorism as an excuse for the persecution of those with a deep personal commitment to the Islamic religion and who pursue their views by peaceful means'

But Khalid Mahmood, the Muslim MP who the Labour Party hold up as a ‘favour’ to us, has failed to add his name to a simple motion which outlines Muslim suffering at the hands of a terrorist state!

In light of this discovery, MPAC again states that we refuse to accept Khalid Mahmood as a representative of the Muslim community in the House of Commons. As far as we are concerned, there is only one Muslim MP in the house of Commons– Mohammed Sarwar.

If you would like to question Khalid Mehmood on his failure on the part of the Muslims yet again, write to him at mahmoodk@parliament.uk

I was amused to receive a letter from Brent East Labour candidate Yasmin Qureshi who is the first Muslim woman to be selected.

In her letter, she claims that I was rude to her on the phone. Really? How could that be when I have never spoken to her in the first place?

If Ms Qureshi would take the time to read my diary, (or even pay attention to the name given during a phone conversation) she would discover that it was actually a sister from Muslim Sisters Watch UK who called her up. This was done with the intention of advising Ms Qureshi to stand in solidarity with the two Muslim brothers who had been victims of Islamaphobia by Brent East General Committee.

In our opinion, Ms Qureshi should be grateful to groups like MPAC, IACN and others that took up the campaign against the Labour party. It was our campaign against the Labour party on the first incident of islamphobia with the two Muslim brothers, which probably prompted the Labour’s party’s decision to have her replace the chosen candidate on the night of the selection – when she herself was the victim that was cheated.

As we have said before, not even the Labour party can get away with two Islamaphobic incidents in one selection campaign.

But anyhow, we are prepared to leave Ms Qureshi alone.

As she is a Muslim candidate, we will stay out of her election campaign and let her fight it out with Sarah Teather, the Lib Dem MP whom we helped elect by urging Muslims not to vote for the last Labour candidate.
If Ms Qureshi wins, we hope that she makes us all proud by representing Muslim interests. If however she turns out to be a sell-out like Khalid Mahmood, her face and name will be a regular on the MPAC website.

May we remind you of MPAC’s involvement in the last Brent East by-election of 2003.

Success: MPAC makes History
http://www.mpacuk.org/mpac/data/3697ae11/3697ae11.jsp

[MohammedA]

Jang.com.pk

Pak boy wins tennis tourney in Florida

KARACHI: Shaharyar Wali, a 15-year-old player from Karachi Gymkhana, who has been training in Florida for the last three years, won another tournament at Both & Request super series in Sarasota, Florida in U-18 singles event.

Shaharyar had also won the Canadian Nationals in 2003 and was No. 1 ranked junior in Canada in 2003.

In the tournament, he was unseeded, won his first round from the draw of 32 against Toni Todoric 6-0, 6-3, then upset second seed Stephen Danoto from 6-3, 6-3.

The semis was pretty tough against Gcrasiomos Houpis as the match lasted for more than two hours but Shaharyar won the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6 and also won the second set 6-2 while the final set was won easily 6-2, 6-0.

In the final match against Tomas Marek who had upset top seed Aaron Haines on his way to the finals but Shaharyar playing exceptionally well, defeated Marek to win the title.

[MohammedA]

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Communit...l04/30/04.html


Cal State LA Alumnus Lights the Way


Los Angeles, CA: Do you know how traffic signals or digital clocks light up? Working behind the scenes to illuminate such vital technology are light-emitting diodes (LEDs).


Energy-efficient and durable, LEDs have been replacing incandescent bulbs for several years, and Pervaiz Lodhie’s (‘71 BS) company, LEDtronics, has been leading the way.


“This revolution is growing faster than computer technology,” says Lodhie, alumnus of the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology (ECS&T) at Cal State LA, and president and CEO of LEDtronics, which designs and manufactures LEDs for 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies.



Pervaiz Lodhie
LEDtronics has grown from a two-person operation in 1983 to more than 140 employees at its Torrance headquarters. Projects range from lighting on local bridges to walkway illumination on the next-generation space station.

“The variety of markets for which we design is mind-boggling,” Lodhie says.Considered a global pioneer of the LED light bulb, Lodhie has also put this innovative technology to great use in Pakistan.


“Many people there do not have lighting, so they burn toxic kerosene, or rely on candles,” Lodhie explains. “This energy-efficient lighting used with solar panels can help Pakistan.”


Lodhie says that his time at Cal State LA helped him immensely. “I found my first engineering job as a student through the Center for Career Planning and Placement. And, Cal State LA provided me with a hands-on, affordable education, and gave me all the tools I use in the field of mechanical engineering.”


To give back, he established the Pervaiz and Alma Lodhie Scholarship for engineering students at Cal State L.A., and remains active on the ECS&T board. Pervaiz Lodhie is a Rolling Hills Estates resident.

[MohammedA]

Aisamul Haq Qureshi – the best Davis Cupper of Pakistan

Staff Report

LAHORE: Pakistan started participating in Davis Cup competitions in 1948. Legendary Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed, who was an All India number one before 1947, was the first Davis Cup player of Pakistan. He won the first Davis Cup match for Pakistan by defeating H Huonder of Switzerland in 1948.

Pakistan has played 74 ties in total since 1948 and won 36. The highest elevation has been to Asia Oceania Group I in the years 1999, 2003 and 2004. Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed, Mehmood Alam, Meer Mohammad Khan, Khawaja Saee Hai, Saeed Meer, Haseeb Aslam, Munawar Iqbal, Mohammad Khalid, Mohammad Khaliq, Hameedul Haq, Rasheed Malik, Omer Rashid, Asim Shafik, Aqeel Khan, Nadir Ali Khan, Haroon Rahim, Aisamul Haq Qureshi, Islamul Haq, Munir Pirzada and Mushif Zia are the notable players who have played five or more matches in Davis Cup ties for Pakistan. Haroon Rahim was the youngest Davis Cup player of Pakistan at an age of 15 years and 107 days.

With the highest success rate of 68 percent, Aisam has won 21 out of 31 matches played by him. Next to him is Saeed Mir, who with a success rate of 65 percent, has won 26 out of 40 matches played by him. With 8 wins out of 13 matches, Haseeb Aslam has success rate of 62 percent. The poorest performance was by Khawaja Saeed Hai who played five matches and lost all of them.

Aqeel Khan has won 12 out of 28 matches and Rasheed Malik has won 14 out of 31 matches while Mohammad Khaliq has a success rate of 58%, winning 18 out of 31 matches. With 43 matches, Hameedul Haq played maximum matches for Pakistan. He won 24 of them at the rate of 56%. Aqeel Khan won 12 out of 28 matches while Asim Shafik won only 8 out of 19.All time best doubles team was Aisam and Aqeel Khan. The duo won 6 out of 7 doubles matches played by them.

The longest Davis Cup tie played by Pakistan was against China in Peshawar in year 2002, which lasted for 14 hours and 24 minutes. Pakistan won the tie. The longest match was played by Aisam and Aqeel Khan against China in the same tie which lasted for 4 hours and 50 minutes. The 1998 match played between Aisam and Paradon Srichaphan of Thailand with 70 games in a match stands as the match with most games in a tie.

[MohammedA]

Yorkshire select first home-grown Asian player

LONDON: Eighteen-year-old Ajmal Shahzad made history on Sunday when he became the first British-born Asian cricketer to play for Yorkshire.

The teenage seamer opened the bowling for his native county in Sunday’s National League match against Worcestershire at Headingley but he remained wicketless with figures of 0-35 from six overs as Yorkshire went down to a 39-run defeat. The only other Asian cricketers to play for Yorkshire have been Indian internationals Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh. Tendulkar was Yorkshire’s first overseas player back in 1991 when the Leeds-based club relaxed their age-old policy of selecting only cricketers born within the county boundaries.

In the first division, Lancashire easily reached their target of 211 to beat Glamorgan by five wickets former West Indies skipper Carl Hooper top scoring with 49 from 44 balls. All-rounder Alex Wharf had earlier cracked a rapid 71 in a 61-ball knock, which featured 10 sixes and a four, but was given little support in a disappointing Glamorgan innings. Hampshire skipper Shane Warne starred on his return from Australia’s cancelled Test tour of Zimbabwe by helping his side to victory over Gloucestershire at Bristol. The Australian took four for 27 as his side were set 241 to win. Warne, batting at an unusual number three, hit 48 as Hampshire reached 244 for six with 1.3 overs remaining. Fellow Australian Michael Dighton top-scored for the victorious Hawks with 74 off 64 balls. afp

[MohammedA]

Jang.com.pk

Dr Farooq appointed special ambassador

for World Family Alliance

MESA, Arizona: Dr Farooq Hassan, distinguished international legal authority, political adviser, and attorney, has been appointed by the World Family Alliance as its Special UN Ambassador for the Family.

The World Family Alliance is extremely honoured to have Dr Hassan, serving in this key role, said Craig Cardon, Chairman of the Board of United Families International, the coordinating organisation of World Family Alliance.

Dr Hassan superlative professional credentials and high-level governmental experience, combined with his deep commitment to preserve and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society, make him uniquely qualified to act as ambassador for the family in the international arena.

The World Family Alliance is a coalition of organisations and individuals from diverse countries, cultures and religions, united in the belief that the family is the fundamental unit of society, that marriage is and should remain exclusively between a man and a woman, and that human life, including that of unborn children, is sacred.

During the 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Family, the World Family Alliance is gathering more than a million signatures on its international petition to defend marriage and the family.Educated at Oxford, Cambridge, Lincoln’s Inn, London, Columbia and Harvard, Dr Hassan holds doctoral degrees in constitutional law, international and comparative law, and international affairs.

He has taught at Oxford, London, Columbia, Tufts and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; was a faculty fellow at Harvard’s Law School and Graduate School of Foreign Affairs; and has lectured at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, DC, the National Defence College in Islamabad, and the Pakistan Administrative Staff College.

He has also taught courses at the Hague Academy of International Law, the Humanitarian Law Institute in Italy, the Henry Dunant Institute in Geneva, and the International Institute of Human Rights in France.

Dr Hassan has authored over 25 books and more than 100 professional articles, and is a syndicated columnist in several leading Pakistani newspapers. He has appeared worldwide on TV and media programmes, including spots on CNN, BBC, and Voice of America, and is listed in Who is Who in America, the Directory of American Scholars, and the Biographical Encyclopaedia of Pakistan.

His notable human rights background, includes service as a delegate to and member of the UN Human Rights Commission and of its prestigious UN Sub-Commission on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, the group of experts charged with undertaking studies and making recommendations to the Commission.

He has also served as a member of the Human Rights Programme of the Harvard Law School, as head of the Pakistani delegation to the International Criminal Court PrepComs in New York, as adviser to Unesco’s Division of Human Rights and Peace in Paris, and as a member of the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.

[MohammedA]

Pakistani scientist bags German scholarship

By our correspondent

KARACHI: A Pakistani scientist, Safia Khatri, hailing from Karachi, has been selected for a scholarship to join a scientific meeting on regenerative medicine at Rostock University, Germany.

The programme offers an opportunity to the young scientists to meet, listen to, discuss, and interact with the most prominent scientists in the field of stem cell biology and medicine.

The topics covered form the basis cellular biology of stem and neurology of neuro-degenerative medicine focussing on Parkinson’s disease, Chorea, Huntington’s multiple selerosis, and stroke.

Prof A Rolfs of the Rostock University, in collaboration with other universities and the German Society of Neurology, had arranged the meeting which also consisted lectures on, "The use of stem cells in neuro-degenerative diseases: basics and applications" and "electro-physiology and proteomics of developing neuronal stem cells".

"It was a great honour for me as I got a scholarship to attend this 15-day spring school, which provided me an opportunity to benefit from the works and research of prominent scientists on the topic," said Safia Khatri.

Safia said that the researchers all over the world were exploring this ability of the stem cells to get rid of older defective cells and replace them with younger healthy ones.

[MohammedA]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-6-2004_pg7_27


Bridging generations and geography

* Young British Pakistani promoter plans shows with desi talent

Staff Report

LAHORE: ‘Asian Fusion’, a modeling and production company led by Omar Khawaja, a young UK-based promoter, will organise shows of Pakistani artists in the UK starting next month.

Mr Khawaja held a press conference on Wednesday at a local hotel where he said that next month the company would hold qawali performances in the UK and has plans for a show to celebrate Independence on August 14. In September it would organise a show with the cream of the Pakistani showbiz scene such as Moeen Akhtar, Zeba Bakhtiar and Bushra Ansari amongst others.

Mr Khawaja said he considered Asia family and wanted to hold mixed shows. He said next year he would bring together Indian and Pakistani artists in one big show. He said the UK market was ready to respond to mixed Indian-Pakistani shows.

Asian Fusion was launched three years ago in the UK. The young promoter said he had studied in Pakistan and was from the third generation of Asian families in London.

Mr Khawaja said this was his first visit to Pakistan in 10 years. He said he would take 45 artists with him for the August show and for the qawali performances for which Qawal Asif Ali Khan would accompany him and perform in the UK for two months. He said Asif Ali Khan had struck a five-year contract with Asian Fusion. Mr Khawaja said music was one way to bridge the gap of generation and geography.

Mr Khawaja said he had started out as a student of Law and he began to take his first steps in media when he was 19 when he started arranging shows on a small scale.

He said he had been exposed to many aspects of the media from accidentally walking on to a live television set to working on the fundamentals of a concert and media production that so often went amiss in London when Pakistani artists performed.

He said he had been nominated for an EMMA award in 1990 (Ethnic Multicultural Media Awrads) for a TV program called ‘Youth Zone’ on the Pakistani channel. It was a live TV debate show that discussed issues that affected the British-Pakistani generation in the UK.

In 1990, he organised fashion shows across London. The fashion shows were brought to boutiques on Green St and Southall. He acquired the eastern contract for the movie premier of “Moulin Rouge” in London. Asian Fusion was also selected to provide eastern entertainment for the after-party attended by Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Jemima Khan and other celebrities, Mr Khawaja said.

He has also organised a succession of comedy stage shows from Pakistan such as “Hai maar dala”, “Channa Sachi Muchi” and many others in East London.