Pakistan Association of Australia hosted an Eid Get-together party at the Parliament House of New South Wales on Tuesday, 20 August 2013. The program was attended by a large number of Parliamentarians, dignitaries from the office of the Consulate General of Pakistan in Sydney, local Pakistani community members, Trustees & Members / Office Bearers of the Executive Committee of the Pakistan Association.

Members of Parliament John Robertson MP,Linda Burney MP,Dr Andrew McDonald MP,Mr Mr David Andrew Elliott MP,The Hon Peter Primrose MLC,Hon.Barbara Perry MP,The Hon Amanda Fazio, Mr Guy Zangari MP and Mehreen Faruqi MLC attended the PAA Eid Milan Party.

The program started with recitation of Holy Quran verses by renowned Religious Scholar Molana Nazeer ul Hassan Thanvi.

It was followed by a speech by young Razeen Farjad that was brief but contained content of any good speech.

The President Pakistan Association of Australia Mr.Shahid Iqbal formally welcomed all the guests and acknowledged the good work carried out by the previous Executive Committee lead by Iftikhar Rana.

Hon.David Elliot MP thanked the Pakistan Association and the community to invite him and giving him the opportunity to represent the Premier Barry O’Farrell (who sent his apologies due to a prior election commitment with Hon Tony Abbott) and the Liberal Party of Australia.

Leader of the Opposition Hon John Robertson MP also representing the Australian Labor Party graced the occasion with his presence and highlighted the significance of the event with particular reference to his personal association with the local Pakistani community.

The General Secretary of the Pakistan Association Dr.Abbas Rizvi then welcomed the representative of The Greens, Dr. Mehreen Faruqi MLC. Being a woman from Pakistan origin, her presence in the Legislative Council of the NSW is in itself an honour for the Pakistani community. Her efforts in this regard were thouroughly acknowledged and she received a rousing welcome. Her short but beautiful speech clearly reflected the true multiculturalism in its real perspective, a phenomenon Australia rightly takes pride of.

Hon Amanda Fazio MLC also spoke on this occasion with reference to the fasting month of Ramadan.

Consul General of Pakistan Abdul Aziz Uqaili was requested to speak not only on Consulate behalf but also as a representative of the Government of Pakistan. In his short but compact speech he spoke about Pakistan, Pakistan-Australia ties at all levels and Consulate services.

A humour-based skit presented by Farjad Mahmoud and Khurram Qaiser followed Consul General speech. The skit was written and produced by the same talented duo and received admiration from the audience.

The final speech of the evening was delivered by Hon Shaoquett Moselmane MLC.As a co-host of the event, he spoke about his close ties with the members of the Pakistani community and assured his continued involvement in similar future events. After his speech, the Secretary concluded the program with warm thanks to all the Guests (from the Parliament, Consulate office and the community members) and requested President Shahid Iqbal to lead the guests for refreshments.

The event was a huge success in terms of the number and quality of the guests and their speeches. The program start and finish times were strictly followed and it was described as a positive improvement in program management. The guests welcomed this on-time start and finish schedule and expressed their confidence that it will be followed in future programs too.

Pakistan Association of Australia is thankful to all the guests in this program, the media friends from Sada-e-Watan Sydney and Awaz Group of Publications and the sponsors for their efforts and contribution in making this program a huge success.

The President Pakistan Association of Australia Mr.Shahid Iqbal

The General Secretary of the Pakistan Association Dr. Abbas Rizvi