PANZ online voting begins; final polling on Sunday, February 24
Auckland, February 21, 2019
Members of the Pakistan Association of New Zealand (PANZ) had an opportunity to understand the aims and objectives of a group seeking to be elected to various posts at the forthcoming election of office-bears of the Association in Auckland.
Online Voting which began a few days ago, will conclude at 1159 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2019 and offline voting will be held (venue and time not yet announced) on Sunday, February 24, 2019.
PANZ has constituted an Election Commission to conduct the election.
A good prelude
The meeting was a good prelude in the democratic tradition, although only one group of aspirants, calling themselves. the ‘Pasban Panel’ (meaning ‘Guardian’ or ‘Gatekeeper’) was present. The other opposing group, called, the ‘Dosti Panel’ (Friendship), though invited, was not present at the event hosted by former PANZ President Adnan Mirza and his wife Farah Rais Alvi at their residence in North Shore on Sunday, February 10, 2019.
Group manifesto
The purpose of the meeting was to enable the contesting members or their groups to outline their programmes and projects that would enable PANZ to serve and support better the Pakistani community in New Zealand.
University of Auckland (Department of Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering) Dr Muhamad Nadeem moderated the discussion hosted by Dr Yusuf Qureshi.
Pasban Panel Joint Secretary Ajaz Nusrat said that as a Technical Engineer, one of his objectives is to create a database of all the members of the community in New Zealand for better connectivity and communication.
The Panel’s General Secretary Asim Mukhtar said that his desire was to commence cultural classes for Pakistani youth to improve awareness of the rich cultural and literary heritage of Pakistan and enable them to transfer to the next generation.
Group President Naveed Hamid and Treasurer Atif Aslam agreed with the suggestions, saying that there was substantial scope for PANZ to function more effectively and work with various communities in New Zealand.
Concerns raised
PANZ members grilled the Pasban Panel to test the bona fides of their promises and expressed a number of their concerns, including the functioning of the previous office-bearers of PANZ. The concerns also included scheduling and late-start of events and whether electronic voting will be introduced at the forthcoming PANZ elections.
The Pasban Panel promised to have in place a ‘disciplined and strict management practice’ to ensure punctuality and free and fair elections.
The discussions also covered the ‘Bazm e Adab’ Facebook Page (which is now alive), commencement of Urdu Classes and the future of PANZ.
Rendition of ‘Insha Ji Uttho, Ab Kooch Karo’ (‘Rise and Do Something Now’), a Ghazal made famous by Pakistani seraphic singing maestro Ustad Amanat Ali Khan was appropriate for the occasion.
The credits for the evening include Shahida Yasmeen Butt, Ms Mohammad Nadeem, Farah Alvi, Nisaa and Nusha Yasmeen Mirza.
From a Report by Mohammad Hassaan Mirza
(Pictures Supplied)
