Aziz Memon conferred Sitara-e-Imtiaz

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

(Pakistan News and Features Services)

The legendary figure of Aziz Memon received the coveted Sitara-e-Imtiaz award in the field of public service on March 23 as ceremonies were held in provincial capitals to confer presidential civil awards on around 400 personalities for their contributions to their respective fields on the Pakistan Day. 

The Sindh Governor, Kamran Khan Tesori, the Punjab Governor, Baligh-ur-Rahman, the Balochistan Acting Governor, Abdul Khaliq Achakzai, and the Khyber Pakhunkhwa Governor, Haji Ghulam Ali, presented honours to various personalities at the respective Governor Houses. 

Governor Kamran Tesori presented the Sitara-e-Imtiaz award to Aziz Memon in Karachi where a total of 73 people belonging to different fields have been awarded with civil honours at the ceremony. 

Aziz Memon, a renowned entrepreneur, was recognized for his outstanding services in the social sector. His role in the eradication of polio from Pakistan figured prominently in his citation. Besides being the chair of the National Polio Plus Committee, he is a Trustee of the Rotary President and the International President of the English-Speaking Union (ESU). 

He is also credited to have co-founded the Karachi Festival of Books and Libraries (KFBL), the first of its kind initiative to be launched in the 76-year-old history of the country.

Ashfaq Tola elected as VP of South Asian Federation of Accountants

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Another feather was added to the cap of Ashfaq Yousuf Tola, acclaimed as one of the financial wizards of the country, when he was recently elected as the Vice President of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) in its annual elections, which include member countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, and Afghanistan. 

Having served as the Minister of State on Revenue and Chairman of the Tax Reforms and Resources Mobilization Commission in the government of former Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Ashfaq Tola is a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan, besides Former President ICAP for the term 2022-2023. He has been a member of the ICAP’s Council since 2017. 

He has also served as the Vice President for the term 2020-22 and headed various committees of the Institute, including the Fiscal Laws, Economic Advisory and Government Relationship, Overseas Coordination, and Examination Committees. 

He is a life member of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry; he has also served as a technical advisor to a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Board, a Member of the Board of Directors CA Worldwide, a Member of the Board of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), Member of the Board of Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA), President of Karachi Club for four years. 

Ashfaq Tola, himself a fine exponent of the mind sport of bridge, has also held top positions at the Pakistan Bridge Federation (PBF) besides having played a pivotal role in its development and growth.

Jumbo Infomedia wishes Happy New Year 2024

Overseas Coordinator aims to keep KLA flying high

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Overseas Coordinator of the Karachi Librarian Association (KLA), Muhammad Younis Hashmi, has set high goals for letting the association continue flying high in every nook and corner of the world. 

Having relocated in Canada’s city of Milton, after having been a practicing librarian for more than four decades in his home country, Pakistan, he has kept himself busy in professional and social engagements. He has had incredible passion for his chosen field and he desires to raise the bar for KLA, of which he is one of the co-founders. 

“The KLA has tremendous potential. While my fellow office-bearers are doing a great job in their respective capacities at Karachi, I am trying my best for the furtherance of our noble cause abroad, particularly in Canada and the United States of America (USA). I am reaching out the librarians who are based here now after having studied and worked at the City of Lights,” Younis Hashmi remarked enthusiastically while talking to PNFS on Boxing Day. 

“I have already touched base with quite a few stalwarts of the profession who have made North America as their home. Almost every one of them is excited and thrilled with the development and progress which the KLA has made in just four months after having emerged on the horizon on August 25, 2023,” he disclosed. 

“Now I am planning to introduce the KLA to the library community of USA and Canada. We are confident that they would extend cooperation to us. Our librarians can learn lot from each other by sharing experiences. The KLA will bridge the gap with the active support of its energetic office-bearers under the leadership and guidance of our President, Farheen Mahmood, and our Advisor, Syed Khalid Mahmood” he concluded.

Sudden rebirth of Karachi Library Association

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

As some people say many great things happens by chance. So was the case of birth or rather rebirth of Karachi Library Association (KLA). It was during an informal conference call between four like-minded visionaries, three of them career librarians and the fourth one a library activist, when the word KLA was mentioned for the first time during the second week of August 2023. 

Muhammad Younus Hashmi, now having relocated in Canada after serving the technical library of the national flag-carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), for more than four decades, floated the idea of creating a platform by the name of KLA to carry out activities to boost the community of librarians. 

Both Farheen Mahmood, Chief Librarian, Adamjee Government College, and Shama Bano, Chief Librarian, PECHS Government College, equally passionate to do something good for fellow librarians, promptly agreed to the suggestion and they tasked Syed Khalid Mahmood, having vast experience of social sector, to do spadework for the proposed KLA. That’s how it all began! The rest is history as they say. 

The goodwill and endeavours of the quartet helped in turning the dream into reality much more quickly than anticipated. Syed Munawwar Ali, Nasir Mustafa, Bushra Roohi, Prof Amir Subhani, Wajid Ali Chandio, Rehana Sadiq, Ali Asghar Dars and Farzana Zafar, eight more librarians of eminence, sharing the burning desire to make things happen, got together on the historic day of August 25 as the ‘dedicated dozen’ joined hands formally by declaring the formation of KLA with a bang. A new star was born. The date is now set to be celebrated as Foundation Day of KLA in the years to come. 

Historically there used to be an organization by the identical name of KLA, established soon after the creation of Pakistan. They contributed their bit before receding into background. Therefore, technically it could also be described as rebirth of the first-ever library body of the country. Birth or rebirth, the newly launched KLA seems to be having the energy as well as resources to bring about revolution of sorts. The founder members of new KLA possess the drive and determination to sail through rough tides in order to achieve their objectives.

KLA dignitaries recognized in Syed Khalid Mahmood’s author session at Habib Public School

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The top officials of the Karachi Library Association (KLA) were recognized by the Principal of the famed Habib Public School during the Author Session, conducted by Syed Khalid Mahmood, an eminent media personality and library activist, as a part of the International Literacy Day celebrations. 

Farheen Mahmood, President, KLA, and Shama Bano, Senior Vice President, KLA, were specially invited at the event as the guests of honour. They were also escorted to the Senior Library where they went around its various sections. 

“The library team thoroughly appreciates your efforts in reviving the reading culture in society through your activities and initiatives from the platform of the KLA,” Rubina Merchant, Head of Library Science at Habib Public School, reckoned. 

The Principal of the school, Minhas Tejani, presented mementoes to both the guests of honour as well as to the man of the moment, author Syed Khalid Mahmood, who also happens to be the Advisor to KLA. 

The author session on the subject of ‘explore the world of sports through books’ turned out to be an extremely lively event as a large number of students from Class VI to VIII participated actively in it and showed a lot of inclination towards creative activities. The participants displayed hunger for reading and listening to stories of outstanding athletes besides other high-achievers.

KLA delegation attends digital library inauguration at Nusrat Bhutto College

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Other than participation of a delegation of the Karachi Library Association (KLA), the inauguration ceremony of digital library at Nusrat Bhutto Degree College in Lyari, Karachi, on September 19 turned out to be a lackluster affair. 

The Director General of Colleges, Government of Sindh, Prof Shadab Hussain, who was the designated chief guest, didn’t turn up for the event The Regional Director of Colleges, Prof Suleman Sayal, in his presidential address spoke about various challenges being faced by his department without even touching the subject of digitalization of libraries. 

The Principal of Nusrat Bhutto Degree College, Prof Muhammad Rauf, also didn’t deem it proper to share details of the digital library which was being inaugurated which looked quite strange to the participants of ceremony, which featured heads of various other colleges of the area. 

The college librarian, Abdul Wajid Chandio, who also happens to be the Joint Secretary of KLA, conducted the proceedings in an impressive manner but it were the majority of the speakers who didn’t deem it proper to talk about the subject of the day which was digitalization of library. 

The KLA President, Farheen Mahmood, was the only speaker to briefly touch the subject. The KLA Advisor, Syed Khalid Mahmood, was also present on the occasion.