Page 18 - Pakistan Link - December 31, 2021

P18 – PAKISTAN LINK – DECEMBER 31, 2021 COMMUNITY
Panel Explores Cryptocurrency Opportunities for Pakistan The Fast Pass to Working on Capitol Hill

From left: Ali Farid Khwaja, Kalsoom Lakhani, Omer Suleman, and Salahuddin Khawaja
n By Elaine Pasquinini
early,” said Salahuddin Khawaja, who where he traded financial derivatives,
Washington: On December 13, the had a 20-year career on Wall Street he was attracted to the volatility in
Atlantic Council’s South Asia Cen- and is now CEO of Decklaration and the crypto area in a trading sense. n By Iman Ali Perhaps it was the impact of
ter hosted a lively lives in Pakistan. “In 2014, I started “We should understand that MPAC Policy and Programming the 7:00 pm looming deadline when
discussion on the po- investing in Bitcoin and shortly realistically we are very early in this Coordinator polls closed in Georgia, or the reality
tential opportunities thereafter in Ethereum. I kind of journey,” Suleman said. “Most people of the impending deadline for many
for crypto and block- rode the wave initially.” who will purchase crypto…have no 2021 CLDP applications now Americans who have gone without
chain in Pakistan. After leaving Wall Street, Kha- real understanding of what it is. It’s open adequate assistance from their gov-
“Everyone’s been waja said he delved deeper into cryp- just the access to an investment pos- Since I was a child, one of my ernment for over a year now, who
talking about Bitcoin to and its potential and concluded sibility which is clearly open, clearly favorite things about getting Chinese have bills to pay and children to feed,
for a very long time, but during the “the next 20 years are going to be all very inclusive.” take-out were the fortune cookies. that made me emotional — but in
pandemic so much of this has taken about crypto projects.” Suleman admitted that crpto- My impatience often led to me forc- that moment, I realized that talking
off,” said Atlantic Council nonresi- Based on conservative esti- currency is a difficult space for non- ing my parents to crack open theirs about change was no longer going to
dent senior fellow Kalsoom Lakhani, mates, Khawaja predicted the cryp- specialists to understand, including before any of us had the chance to eat be enough.
moderator of the discussion. “Re- tocurrency industry will grow to $42 regulators and the people in charge, our meals. But I couldn’t wait — the For many young Muslims in
cently, cryptocurrency exceeded $2 trillion dollars over the next ten years adding that most Western countries idea of clarity about my future was America, the reality of working on
trillion in market capitalization, so and advised people “to buy some Bit- regulate crypto as a commodity. too exciting. Capitol Hill seems incredibly far re-
it’s safe to say that this is not going coin and get started.” After talking to “There is nothing more impor- Now, at 25 I wish I could say moved. While many could list doc-
away. What we are experiencing to- people across a broad spectrum of tant than to remove the stigma from that I value fortune cookies less, but tors, engineers, and business owners
day is the future.” stratum in Pakistan, he said he found crypto and blockchain,” Suleman alas, I still get a surge of energy when in their family, it is uncommon to
Although presently there are much interest. said. “You need to honor the entre- I crack open the flavorless cookie — find someone with a career working
regulatory barriers in Pakistan, there One benefit of crypto for Paki- preneurs who are actually thinking still before eating my meal. in Congress. While many of us may
are “an enormous number of users in stanis, he said, is it speeds up the about this stuff at this time early on, Most recently, I ordered take- have been given the talk by our par-
Pakistan investing in crypto, engag- sending of remittances from Paki- that are doing things that are new, out the night of the Georgia Senate ents to choose a path that leads to
ing in the blockchain, people who stanis living abroad who send money whether it is on university campuses Runoff, which turned out to be a bad financial security, and honor — I’m
are really interested in this space,” back to their families in Pakistan. or young entrepreneurs’ startups.” idea because as I anxiously awaited going to be the bearer of bad news,
she added. On the subject of regulation, “This is one of the best times in the results, I definitely indulged in and say that this thinking has actively
Globally, “regulations have been Khawaja believes smart regulation the recent past to be an entrepreneur, one too many wontons, but, hey, how crippled our ability to make change
slow to catch up with this space, but is necessary and it “legitimizes the to be a founder, to be a builder in this often is there an election to win back in the country we call home.
some countries are more friendly space.” space,” Suleman continued. “There is control of the Senate, am I right? Shirley Chisholm, the first black
than others,” Lakhani continued. Omer Suleman, co-founder of capital available for smart builders, Nevertheless, as I tore open woman to be elected into the United
And “while crypto is not technically Westridge Markets, a proprietary so I would say get your hands in the the plastic wrap around the fortune States Congress and the first ever fe-
banned in Pakistan, you cannot use trading and investment firm which eco system, build out and lots of capi- cookie and read the words on the tiny male to run for the Democratic nom-
it as a means of payment, so it is dif- is focused on the crypto ecosystem, tal will follow you.” paper tucked inside — my fortune hit ination for President once said, “If
ficult for you to buy crypto with your describes himself as a “serial entre- Ali Farid Khwaja of KTrade Se- me a little different. they don’t give you a seat at the table,
credit card.” preneur in the cryptospace.” Also curities, a stock brokerage and finan- “A goal is a dream with a dead- bring in a folding chair.” The brevity
“I connected the dots on Bitcoin coming from a career on Wall Street CRYPTOCURRENCY, P28 line.” CLDC, P28
A Man Called Abubakr: One Meeting, Six Years of Friendship, Life-Long Memories

n By Abdul-Majeed Azad brother, going for Jumu’ah. Let’s pick him up. had unknowingly peeled off. Internally, I felt encounter, and they bind you to a total stranger
Pasadena, California I wasn’t sure; still I slowed down and reversed ashamed and yet somehow cleansed of my hu- like nothing else you’ve ever experienced in
until I came parallel to him. Lowering the pas- bris! I suddenly felt very small and insignificant your entire life! That’s how I felt about AbuBakr
feel fortunate and blessed that I met senger side window, I called out to him: Sir, can in front of his Ikhlas (sincerity). and his pretense-less simplicity. In one of his
Booker T. Washington, Jr. No, he was we drop you off some place? Bending down a After we reached the Masjid, parked the authentic narrations, Rasulullah had defined a
I ot a celebrated professor or scientist, little, he quickly glanced at us and said softly, car and walked towards the entrance, I told him true friend as someone who makes you remem-
n
nor an accomplished engi- “Salam Alykum. I’m going for Friday prayer”. to wait after the prayer and we will drop him off ber your Creator. Just for that reason, I wanted
neer, an acclaimed doctor or I told him to get in as we too were on our way at his house. One may call it sheer selfishness, to keep in touch with him. I wanted to help him
a smart lawyer or a wealthy to the Masjid. but, I wasn’t going to allow this man to walk too. So, before we dropped him off at his niece’s
Wall Street financier. He For small talks, I asked his name. He told again for 16-17 miles. Nor was I willing to pass place, I made sure I had his phone number and
wasn’t a singer, or song-writ- me he had reverted to Islam several decades ago on the opportunity of doing some little good the address.
er or a famous musician. Nor and his Muslim name was AbuBakr. Ma sha’ for ourselves on a Friday. That was the first time I had met AbuBakr.
was he a well-known author, Allah! Next, I asked him if he lived nearby. He On our way back, we stopped by my wife’s Even though our meeting was pure acciden-
celebrated poet or a famed said, no. He lived about 16-17 miles away from apartment briefly. While we waited in the car, tal and quite brief, it is etched in my memory
storyteller. In fact, he was a non-descript or- this Masjid. He wanted to meet some friends and my heart forever. That was the last time
dinary, diminutive and frail man. I’m sure, in this part of the town before Jumu’ah, so he too. Because of serious health issues, my wife
barring a few people, for most of the world, had decided to get an early start. When he I feel so fortunate to have had to soon quit her job in Milwaukee and
he didn’t even exist! came to the bus stop in his neighborhood and met him even if only once. He join me. But I kept in regular touch with him.
On the day of Christmas of 2015 - a Fri- had waited for a while, he realized that buses reinforced in me that some people Every Friday, we would exchange Salam and
day - my wife and I were driving to the Al-Noor were not plying on Christmas Day. We were in- ‘Jumu’ah Mubarak’. Every Christmas, we’d rem-
Masjid in Brookfield for the Jumu’ah prayer. trigued and incredulous. I asked, how did he come in your life so very briefly inisce about our chance meeting on that day in
Those days, she used to be a researcher at the come, then? yet leave long shadows and deep 2015. I was looking forward to this little ritual
Blood Research Center in the vicinity of the That’s when I knew, I had met one of Al- imprints of ours this year too. But, that wasn’t meant to
Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, WI. When lah’s beloved servants. be this year. On the morning of Tuesday, De-
we were about two miles away from the Masjid, He said, realizing that he didn’t have a bus she packed him a box of freshly baked home- cember 14, I received a call from his daughter
we saw an African-American man walking on to ride, he had decided to walk to the Masjid: all made lasagna. During the drive, he told us he Tony, that AbuBkar passed away peacefully in
the sidewalk in small but intent and purposeful 16-17 miles! He said, he used his phone’s GPS used to work as a landscaper but with aging his sleep. Barely ten days ago I had touched
steps. Being the Christmas Day, I thought, here for navigation and had been walking through acute back pain made him quit. He used to live base with him, and when I inquired about his
is a gentleman on a chilly Milwaukee afternoon the safe byways for the past 2-½ hours! My wife with his daughter but when her job made her health, he had told me that he was doing well
on his walk after a delicious and sumptuous and I looked at each other with sheer feeling move to Madison, WI, he shifted to his niece’s and feeling better.
Christmas meal with his family. of dwarfness for ourselves and honest admira- home where he was currently living. He told us I feel so fortunate to have met him even if
It was a 25-mph street and I was driving tion for this brother’s devotion to Allah (swt)! that he used to live and work in Southern Cali- only once. He reinforced in me that some peo-
cautiously. I drove past him and in the fleet- Let me digress a bit here. Only a few months fornia, and had lived for some years in Cleve- ple come in your life so very briefly yet leave
ing moment I caught a glimpse of him: a thin earlier that year, I had spent ten blessed days land, OH, as well. long shadows and deep imprints. AbuBakr was
man of medium height with scruffy facial hair of Ramadan in Madinah. Even after six months As we were driving home, I realized some- indeed such a person and I miss him as a friend
- mostly grey - in a pair of khaki pants, a well- since, my body and soul were still enthralled thing. Sometimes we spend years together in a and as a brother in faith.
worn jacket, and a skull-hugging white cap. by the bliss of that experience. But, hearing his relationship - be it spousal/maternal/paternal/ (Abdul-Majeed Azad, PhD, is a Technolo-
My wife glanced in her passenger side account I realized that my false sense of ‘pi- fraternal/filial or of other kind and yet it means gist at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
mirror and said to me: He looks like a Muslim ety’ was nothing but a feigned guise which he nothing. And then there are moments of brief California)
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