Spectacular Pakistan Independence Day Celebrations in San Pedro
Los Angeles: With the breathtaking views of the San Pedro Harbor in the background, United for Pakistan Independence Day (UFPID) staged yet another memorable Pakistan Independence Day celebration this year.
The new venue for the event in San Pedro, California turned out to be a smashing hit with the community. According to some estimates, over 20 thousand people turned up to attend this event. It was easily noticeable that the crowd this year was much larger than the years before.
UFPID was founded 12 years ago for the sole purpose of organizing the Pakistan Independence Day in the Greater Los Angeles Area. For the past 12 years, this 11-member team has demonstrated its love for the motherland by presenting fabulous mega-events to the community year after year, to commemorate the Independence of Pakistan. All the events up until this year’s event were held at the Exposition Park in Los Angeles.
On this occasion, in keeping with its tradition, UFPID had arranged a concert and a mela festival that included a large number of vendor booths selling clothing, jewelry, decoration items, other Pakistani goods and delicious Pakistani cuisine.
The day’s festivities began with the beautiful recitation of the Holy Qur’an by UFPID Vice President Ismail Keekeebhai, followed by a very elegant honor guard ceremony presented by the Los Angeles Port Police. This was followed by the national anthems of Pakistan and the United States of America.
Emcee of the event, UFPID Treasurer Arif Mansuri, invited the speakers to address the audience one-by-one. UFPID President, Jamal Khawaja first welcomed the guests and thanked the sponsors. He also thanked his Board of Directors and volunteers for their tireless and selfless work of several months to put together this event to commemorate the Independence Day of Pakistan on a scale that the whole community could be proud of. Consul General of Pakistan, HE Abdul Jabbar Memon highlighted the significance of the day and congratulated the UFPID on arranging such a tremendously successful event to commemorate the Independence Day of Pakistan. UFPID Chairman, Samin Faruqui shared his message of love, unity, and brotherhood with everybody.
Other speakers at the event included: Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Congresswoman Judy Chu, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Woolery, Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Horace Frank, Consul General of Senegal H.E. Mame Toucouleue MBaye, Los Angeles City Commissioner Amna Qazi, Grand Sponsor of the Event – President of JadooTV Sajid Sohail, President of the Council of Pakistan Imran Sharief, PTI Treasurer Dr Razaq Chaudry, General Syed Pervaiz Shahid, UFPID Vice President Ismail Keekeebhai and UFPID Board Member Zubair Rawda.
Friend of Pakistani Community Bishop Juan Carlos Menendez and Alex Villanueva, who is running for Los Angeles County Sheriff, also spoke on the occasion.
The task of coordinating and inviting the dignitaries was carried out by UFPID President Jamal Khawaja, UFPID Vice President Ismail Keekeebhai, UFPID Board Member Adnan Khan and UFPID Board Member Zubair Rawda. UFPID Board Member Majeed Shaikh managed and coordinated the booths.
Special arrangements were made for the Maghrib prayers at the event venue. UFPID Board Member Qazi Asad managed the prayer arrangements. A very large number of people gathered to offer prayers, which reminded one of the Eid prayers at an Eidgah!
UFPID had made sure that there was something for everyone at this event. For kids, a petting zoo with camels, zebra, and other animals was arranged. It was a big hit with kids and adults alike.
Earlier in the day, the Consul General of Pakistan, HE Abdul Jabbar Memon, accompanied by the entire UFPID Board of Directors, dignitaries and members of the public marched, on the beat of the dhol, around the entire event ground and visited the booths. HE Memon specially visited the booth of each law enforcement agency, including FBI, Los Angeles Port Police, etc., and personally thanked them for their presence at the event.
A magnificent fashion show was presented by two clothing stores located on the Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia, California, viz. the Décor Fashion (Rizwana Khan) and the East Avenue, formerly known as the Nishat Linen (Tahira Waziri). The show was organized by Rubina Samin Faruqui and Sadia Sohail.
Irfan Murtaza and his team presented a remarkable skit “Pakistan Ki Kahani, Pakistan Ki Zabaani”. This skit was written and directed by Irfan Murtaza, the role of ‘interviewer’ was performed by UFPID Vice President Ismail Keekeebhai, it was narrated by Sadia Sohail and included national songs sung by Shazia and Arshad Ali and a slide show presentation by Fawwad Memon.
A magnificent cultural show was presented by kids which truly represented the culture of Pakistan and its provinces. This cultural show was organized by Rubina Samin Faruqui.
Kids presented an amazing skit which was very well liked by the audience. Sara Rawda, Amaan Keekeebhai, Emaan Keekeebhai and Malaika Jamal performed in this wonderful skit.
Attendees immensely enjoyed the enthralling performances by local artists, Shazia and Arshad Ali, Asif Balaj and Mansoor Khan.
The audience loved Irfan Murtaza’s impromptu recitation of his famous poem “Kiun dais ko apnay chora tha – jo bhi tha kia thora tha’.
The famous actor/comedian Ayaz Khan won the hearts of the crowd with his excellent performance. The audience recognized him from his various roles on TV, including his role in serials such as Studio Dhai, Loose Talk, Fifty-Fifty, Dug Dugi and his most recent very famous role as ‘Sher Khan’ in ARY Digital Network serial Bulbulay.
Naya and Zainab Riayasat were emcees for the entertainment portion of the program. The highlight of this segment of the UFPID program was the performance of the Fuzion Band, comprising of Imran Momina (Emu), Shallum Asher Xavier and Khurram Iqbal – and the top pop artist Ali Haider. As if this was not enough, the most famous Pakistani artist Ali Zafar sang the National Anthem of Pakistan, along with the Fuzion Band and the UFPID Board Members on the stage. This ended the event at such a high note that the ecstatic experience cannot be described in words – it was certainly one of those moments about which one can say, ‘You had to be there to know what it was like’! UFPID Board Member Yousuf Keekeebhai introduced Fuzion Band while UFPID Board Member Sameer Moosani introduced Ali Haider and Ali Zafar on the stage.
The public was able to mingle with celebrities, dignitaries, law enforcement and performers throughout the event. The event started at 3:00 pm. By about 8:00 pm, the venue was full-to-capacity and there were no parking spaces left at the humungous parking lots at the event. This event was scheduled to close at 11:00 pm, however it continued on till almost 11:45 – and people were still coming at that hour to attend the event!
All the major local restaurants and food outlets were well represented in the food booths at the event. Every single one of the food vendors reported that they had run out of the food before the end of the event due to the huge turnout. Present at the mela were: Mehfil Tandoori Restaurant, Karachi Tandoori Restaurant, KFC, Ben & Jerry (food truck), Kulfi’s Ice Cream, Bismillah Halal Tandoori, Curry King, I Cuisine, Bollywood Kitchen (food truck), Scoops N Scoops Ice-cream, The Chicken Guys, Super Smash Buns (food truck) and Mezban Biryani Palace.
The sponsors of this event included: Consulate General of Pakistan Los Angeles, Grand Sponsor – JadooTV (Sajid Sohail), Kaba Fusion (Sohail Masood), Shah Distributors (Anas Shah), Mad Engine (Anwer Gagiani), REX Distribution (Anees Bakali), Council of Pakistan (Imran Sharif), Golden Bank (Rashid Memon), Hab Bank (Nadim Junejo), Wallis Bank (Fawad Ismail), Nasim Malik, Memon Organization of North America-MONA (Rashid Memon), Nawaz Malik, Razaq Chaudry, Zafar Riasat, Qazi Asad and Scoop & Scoop (F. Jafri)
The Board of Directors of UFPID includes: Jamal Khawaja (President), Samin Faruqui (Chairman), Ismail Keekeebhai (Vice President), Arif Mansuri (Treasurer), Irfan Murtaza (Secretary), Zubair Rawda (Board Member), Sameer Moosani (Board Member), Adnan Khan (Board Member), Qazi Asad (Board Member), Yousuf Keekeebhai (Board Member), and Majeed Shaikh (Board Member).
The Pakistan Independence Day celebrations this year broke all previous records in all respects. From the selection of venue to the choice of the performers, the quality of entertainment, the parade, the dignitaries that attended the event, the participation of the community in such large numbers – made this year’s event very memorable and a resounding success.
The event was a true reflection of the UFPID Board Members’ love for Pakistan and their fervent desire to provide a memorable experience to the whole family and to celebrate the Independence Day of Pakistan together!
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