By- Farooq Mirza
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK A prominent Pakistani American community organization, PACOLI hosted a beautiful community evening at the backyard of Bashir Qamar in Long Island. The gathering brought together distinguished community organizations, women, social and business leaders, and prominent elected officials, including Nassau County Executive representatives and, in particular, Congressman Tom Suozzi.
During the event, Congressman Tom Suozzi presented citations and certificates of recognition to several Pacoli executives and community members in appreciation of their services to the community.
A representative of the County Executive spoke at the gathering and expressed her affection for Pakistan. She highlighted the August 23 community festival, describing it as one of the largest festivals on Long Island, and humorously noted that the huge turnout even caused significant disruption to the local traffic system.
Addressing the gathering, Bashir Qamar said that he has been serving the community for the past 40 years and that Pacoli has become an important passion and commitment in his life. He said he remains particularly concerned about maintaining transparency and accountability in the organization’s financial affairs. He emphasized that he keeps detailed accounts and has also spent money from his own pocket when necessary to support community activities.
Qamar said that organizing such a large-scale festival had been a dream of his, and he was proud to see that dream become a reality.
Tasneem Kausar, wife of Bashir Qamar, also addressed the gathering. She said that after spending approximately four decades serving the community alongside her husband, she now wants to retire from active community work.
She expressed the hope that new people would come forward, take responsibility, serve Pacoli, and continue working for the betterment of the Pakistani American community.
Safdar Humyyun, Vice President of Pacoli, said the organization has played an important role in keeping Pakistan’s traditions and culture alive in the United States. He said the leadership would use all its abilities and resources to enhance Pakistan’s image and prestige through the Pacoli platform.
Humayun added that one of his personal dreams is to bring the community together and provide training and guidance to its members, particularly the younger generation.
Shahid Ranjha, VP of Pacoli, said the August 23 festival was the largest festival of the season, attracting thousands of people.
He said the event provided an opportunity to showcase Pakistani culture and strengthen Pakistan’s positive image in the United States.
Ranjha pledged that the organization would continue working hard to take Pacoli to the next level, unite the community, and focus on the training and development of young people.
The President of Pacoli Atiq Qadri made great arrangements of the backyard Programe and was also the moderator. He recited holy Quran , played national anthems of both countries USA and Pakistan . He also said Pacoli is going to next level with the leadership of Chairman Bashir Qamar . He further said that Pacoli is getting bigger and getting notices on International forums. He added that we maintained discipline and culture of respect within the Organisation.
The evening was attended by numerous social and business personalities. 4thpillar Chairman Farooq Mirza and President USA Alisha Bari were among the special guests.
Other prominent participants, including filmmaker Salman Butt and Tauseef Jaggi, also shared their views during the program.
The event reflected the Pakistani American community’s continued commitment to cultural preservation, community service, youth development, and strengthening ties between Pakistani Americans and elected officials on Long Island.
Congressman Tom Suozzi also addressed the gathering and spoke about the Pakistani American community and its contributions.
The Congressman Tom Suozzi United States Representative was the Chief Guest and he distributed awards and citations from Congressional Caucus. He said “ I was asked to come over to say thank you to everybody who worked so hard on the festival and the great job that everybody did. And when Bashir tells me I have to do something, I do it.
So, I just wanted to wish everybody a big thank you. I appreciate it very much. You know that I’m the Chair of the Pakistan Caucus in the United States Congress. Did you know that?
I was one of the first people to go to Pakistan after the floods in 2022, and I actually went there—was it earlier this year or last year? I don’t remember, but anyway—and I held a conference down in Washington, D.C. with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, the Pakistani Ambassador to America, and other people to talk about what we need to do to build the relationship between our two countries.
We’ve been through a lot of ups and a lot of downs together, and it’s going to take a lot of work to make it so that… I mean, for those of you that are part of the Pakistani diaspora, I’m sure you’d love to invest in Pakistan.
So, we’ve got to make it so that it’s more attractive for people to do business there. And if you get into a confrontation or a disagreement, there’s a non-profit arbitration board that can resolve the issues. That’s something that I learned in Kazakhstan, and it works very well for them.
So, the relationship between our two countries is back on the upswing again. We just have to keep on working at it. And I just wanted to come by, especially today on September 12th, to show that I support the Pakistani-Americans. I’ll always be your friend; you’ve always been my friend. Let’s keep on working together and keep on moving forward. Thank you very much, everybody.”
The renowned Singer Rizwana Khan presented live performance and entertained the participants .
