Pak association marks national day with a message of giving
dubai — A number of resolutions were made and presented with the message of peace, progress and happiness at the Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) this Saturday as the community marked their 77th Resolution Day. The event was part of the week-long celebrations by the Pakistani community to commemorate the special day in the history of Pakistan — March 23, 1940.
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance, was the chief guest for the occasion.
Sheikha Lubna inaugurated the PAD’s Niyaz Muslim Library (established in memory of late Niaz Muslim, a Down syndrome child) as part of the Year of Giving 2017 initiative.
“The library has 2,500 books on the history of the UAE, Pakistan and Islamic history. In addition to that, it has books related to English literature and also the largest collection of Urdu literature in the UAE. The library is open to all nationalities and has access and links to various libraries in the UAE and outside,” explained Dr Faisal Ikram, general-secretary, PAD.
Sheikha Lubna toured a photograph exhibition on Pakistan Movement and Beauty of Pakistan that was held during the celebrations.
“Today’s celebration is of pride and solidarity, a time to share and appreciate. And on the occasion I’d like to commend the fraternal relations of our countries. I would like to congratulate the PAD for establishing Niyaz Muslim library that is open to all nationalities in order to spread the message of tolerance. Also the Pakistan Medical Centre, the first non-profit project of its kind in the GCC, initiated to cater to the needs of low-income people by offering top class health facilities,” said Sheikha Lubna.
The PAD honoured Sheikha Lubna with a souvenir for her support. “It is a special day in the history of Pakistan as it was on this day in 1940 that the foundation of what Pakistan is today was laid. It is also special because of the number of initiatives we have launched today as part of the Year of Giving 2017,” Dr Faisal said.
New initiatives
Talking about the newly launched and ongoing initiatives, Dr Faisal said: “PAD has taken the lead to represent Pakistani community and we feel we have a lot to offer — in terms of tolerance, happiness and empowering the youth — to the UAE’s Year of Giving initiative. The two main initiatives for this year are the Niaz Muslim library and the non-profit Pakistan Medical Centre.”
During the ceremony, Dr Faisal also announced the other initiatives undertaken by the PAD for the Year of Giving. These included the reading wall, Ramadan food packages, educate-a-child campaign, youth empowerment initiatives, and volunteer programmes among many other initiatives on the list.
The hallmark of the initiatives is, however, the Pakistan Medical Centre which is a not for profit medical facility — the first of its kind in the GCC by any community. It will include all specialties along with dental care, lab and radiology facilities, open to all nationalities.
“We believe our next generation is our real investment. They are true wealth. So we need to empower them now to take the lead,” said Dr Faisal.
Moazzam Ahmad Khan, Ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE, said: “No country in the world is as magnanimous, humane and as active in addressing humanitarian causes as UAE. By being part of initiatives of Year of Giving, PAD is reinforcing the strong fraternal bonds that exist between our nations.”
saman@khaleejtimes.com