Atif Shafqat & Nadya Ajanee, ’93, Amana Nasir, ’98 and Hamid Bashir, ’02 hosted an awesome regional reunion for AKU alumni in the Midwest region (St. Louis), on June 03, 2016. They had a lovely turnout, with more than 30 alumni attending the event. I am sharing below a brief recap of the event, which Atif Shafqat was very kind to share with us.

Abdul Basit Saeed, ’07
Web Manager, AKUAANA

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AKU Alumni Regional Midwest Reunion, June 2016

On June 3rd, 2016 AKU Medical College Alumni had a regional reunion for Midwest alumni in St. Louis, Missouri. Over 30 alumni plus spouses and many kids (…we noticed quite a few homozygous AKU Alumni progeny…) were able to join together for a fun evening. The attendees included alumni starting from the Class of 1989 all the way to Class of 2013!

The event was a close-knit gathering at the home of Class of ’93 alumni Nadya Ajanee and Atif Shafqat. The other local hosts included Amana Nasir (’98), Hamid Bashir (’02), Tabassum and Obeid Ilahi (’92), Faisal and Saira Asaduallah (’92), Tariq and Anjum Hassan (’89). The theme was “green, white and classy” which could be interpreted in as many ways as the attendee may choose!

Habib Chotani, President of AKUAANA, also attended and brought with him some souvenirs (or should we call them bribes?), including alumni T-shirts for AKUAANA Lifetime Members. Habib did a small presentation which detailed what AKUAANA has been able to accomplish in the last few years. One of the primary purpose of AKUAANA is to serve for the benefit and success of its alumni and their families in our adopted country. The big challenges of increasing membership and organizing now an ever-growing large alumni body in North America were discussed. One idea proposed via a recent survey of the AKU alumni was to find a “common cause” to coalesce around. Habib did a short presentation on one such initiative identified in the form of supporting the “Ibrahim Haidri Outreach Clinic”, a women and pediatric clinic run in the Katchi-Abadis in Karachi in partnership with AKU.

Following the desi dinner, khoobani meetha and chai, there were plans for a singing performance by Hamid Bashir. Hamid has fame from the APPNA Idol Competition and has an activist streak and passion for creating meaningful music (check out his website www.music4cause.net). Just when it seemed that there were going to be some technical sound equipment difficulties, it all came together and he was able to pull off a fabulous performance as usual!

The best part of the evening was meeting up with old friends, having a few laughs and catching up on old memories. The message that comes out clear from these events is that there is a persistent and strong tie that binds the AKU alumni community. It is more than ever necessary to watch out for each other and our families as we navigate and establish ourselves in our new homeland with its many challenges.

View the full album with pictures from the event at the AKUAANA Facebook Page.

For more recaps of Alumni Reunions, visit our Past Meetings page.

Ameer Ali Khowaja, ’06 and Tauseef ur Rehman, ’07 hosted a fantastic regional reunion for AKU alumni in the Upper-Midwest (MN/WI/SD/ND) region, on March 19, 2016. They had a lovely turnout, with more than 20 alumni attending the event. I am sharing below a brief recap of the event, which the hosts were very kind to share with us.

Abdul Basit Saeed, ’07
Web Manager, AKUAANA

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AKU Alumni Regional Upper-Midwest Reunion, March 2016

I came to Minnesota in the summer of 2009 for my Internal Medicine residency at Hennepin County Medical Center along with Tauseef Ur Rehman, ’07 and Abdullah Ladha, ’07. The substantial presence of AKU MC alumni in the state was a very pleasant surprise for all of us. From the apartment hunt in the first month of internship to Iftar invitations during the times we felt most homesick, their support was truly heartening.

As years passed, we got to know how far and wide the local AKU community is. Geographically from International Falls to Rochester, academically from private practices to tenured faculty and class wise from 1991 to 2015.

Knowing so many alumni over the years, we had been thinking of arranging a formal upper Midwest centered reunion for quite some time. The evolving role of AKUAANA especially motivated us to come up with a program that would connect the alumni and have a meaningful impact.

As the first step, we set out to find the exact size of the local AKU community. It turned out there are almost 55 alumni in Minnesota alone, with the following class distribution.

Getting encouragement from above, we planned a reunion on March 19, 2016 at Eagan Civic Arena, MN. We are very grateful to our alumni who took time to attend, in spite of unexpectedly cold weather and more importantly, the Pakistan-India T20 world cup match!

We were fortunate to have Dr. Irfan Altafullah (one of the founding faculty members in the division of Neurology at AKU) as a special guest.

The main event comprised of a series of presentations, with opening remarks and moderation by Tauseef Ur Rehman, ’07. We were fortunate to have a very inspiring video message by Dr. Farhat Abbas, Dean of Medical College. A very special thanks to Dr. Abbas and the office of Alumni Affairs who took the time and effort to records his personalized message for the event.

Amin Rehmatullah (’91) shared community and social engagements by alumni, particularly Muslim Health Professionals of Minnesota. Sabeen Askari, ’94, Secretary of MAPP (MN chapter of APPNA), presented the vision and activities of APPNA and MAPP. Ameer Khowaja, ’06 discussed the objectives and initiatives by AKUAANA. He talked about how MN AKU alumni can be more integrated and take active role in projects launched by AKUAANA. Sani Kizilbash, ’03 shared his initiative of ‘AKU – Giving Back‘ and its impact in connecting current AKU students with AKU alumni. He also discussed other potential areas where the initiative can play a crucial role, such as career advancement and research opportunities. Last but not the least, concluding remarks were delivered by Dr. Irfan Altafullah. Taking the attendees back in time, he shared fond memories of the initial days of AKUMC with treasured pictures and stories of the student life of the most senior medical school class. All of this while attendees enjoyed food, desserts and of course, tea.

On behalf of the organizing team Tauseef Ur Rehman, ’07, Zunera Tauseef, Ameer Khowaja, ’06 and Rubina Sajwani, ’08, we thank all the AKU alumni for their presence at the reunion. We hope that with each reunion, the AKU community in MN will become more organized and will be able to take more active role in local as well as national initiatives.

View the full album with pictures from the event at the AKUAANA Facebook Page.

For more recaps of Alumni Reunions, visit our Past Meetings page.

Please mark your calendars and save the date!

We are planning on having a Regional AKU Alumni Reunion in Atlanta, GA for the alumni residing in South-Eastern US (especially Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee) on Sunday, June 26, 2016 at 8:00 PM. Other alumni in the neighborhood during the event date are also welcome to attend.

Please join us for an evening of fun, socializing and it goes without saying, networking with fellow alumni. Saad Omer (’98) has graciously offered to host the event at his home at:

1529 Regency Walk Dr.
Decatur, GA 30033

If you plan to attend, please join us on our Facebook Event or RSVP to Amyn Malik (’10) at amyn.malik@gmail.com or Saad B. Omer (’98) at somer@emory.edu

We hope to see you all soon!

Amyn Malik (’10)
Saad B. Omer (’98)

Venue: Saad B. Omer’s home

Dear Alumni,

Please join us for an evening of fun, socializing and networking at an AKU Alumni South Atlantic Reunion (Virginia, Maryland, DC, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey) in Virginia on Saturday, May 21 at 5 – 11 PM. This is the first of many regional reunions we are planning for this year.

If you plan to attend, please join us on our Facebook Event or RSVP to the host Habib Chotani (’95) at president@akuaana.org as early as possible.

Also please spread the word among fellow AKU alumni you think would be interested in attending the event.

Can’t make it to this event? No problem, keep an eye out for an event near you.

We hope to see you soon!

Habib Chotani, (’95) – President, AKUAANA
Rehan Khan (’94) – Secretary, AKUAANA
Amber Syed (’94) – Treasurer, AKUAANA
Faisal Qureshi (’93) – Immediate Past President, AKUAANA

Venue: Habib Chotani’s home