Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph

Anwar Ali Merchant Congratulates the Cabinet and Excellency Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani

Press Release
For Immediate Release

Text of the message of congratulations for Excellency Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani:

Islamabad, March 31, 2008
Excellency Yousuf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister
Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Sir,

On the happy occasion of your 24-member cabinet sworn in by His Excellency President Musharraf, I send you my warmest hearty congratulations with prayers for success in all your future endeavors.

I send my hearty felicitations and best wishes individually to each of the honorable ministers sworn in today:
Shah Mehmood Qureshi (Foreign Minister), Sherry Rehman (Information Minister), Syed Naveed Qamar (Minister for Privatisation/Port and Shipping-additional), Raja Pervez Ashraf (Minister for Water and Power), Syed Khursheed Shah (Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis), Qamar Zaman Kaira (Minister for Kashmir Affairs), Senator Farooq Naek (Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights), Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar (Minister for Defence), Nazar Muhammad Gondal (Minister for Narcotics), Najamuddin Khan (Minister for States and Frontier Region) and Mir Humayon Aziz Kurd (Minister for Population Welfare), Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan (Senior Minister), Senator Ishaq Dar (Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs and Commerce), Ahsan Iqbal (Minister for Education), Tehmina Daultana (Minister for Women Development), Sardar Mehtab Abbasi (Minister for Railways), Khawaja Asif (Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources), Rana Tanveer Hussain (Minister for Defense Production), Shahid Khakhan Abbasi (Ministry of Trade), Khawaja Saad Rafiq (Minister for Youth Affairs), Ghulam Ahmed Bilour (Minister for Local Government and Rural Development), Khawaja Mohammed Khan Hoti (Minister for Social Welfare), Rehmatullah Kakar, Hameedullah Jan Afridi, and Rehman Malik.

I also take this opportunity to congratulate President Musharraf for having successfully put Pakistan on the roadmap of democracy and welfare of the people of Pakistan.

Excellency, once again I congratulate you and the honorable ministers from the bottom of my heart with prayers for welfare, happiness, independence and sovereignty of our great nation – Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Anwar Merchant
Founder Chairman – President
Muslim Democracy League

Islamabad 44000
Pakistan
+923455086313
Email: nuslimdemocracy@gmail.com

NOTES:

Formed on the auspicious birth anniversary of Holy Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him and his family] Rabi ul Awwal 12, 1429 ME, Friday March 21 2008, Muslim Democracy League is the political forum and thinktank of Pakistan, contributing knowledge, consultation and insight related to promotion of faith based consensus democracy in Pakistan.

The norms and assumptions that characterise belief and action in Islam have their initial inspiration in two foundation sources. One is the message revealed by God to the Holy Prophet [peace be upon him and his family] and recorded in Quran. The second is Sunnah, the recording of the Prophet’s life, his words, actions and habits, his character, struggle, piety, modesty and success that has come in time to represent for Muslims, a timeless pattern for daily life. And this is true both for the state and the individual. Accordingly, Muslim Democracy League supports to enhance theological and political consensus among different stake holders for the development of good governance in Pakistan.

Muslim Democracy League is the continuation of the original theme and format of Muslim League [1906]. It works to build confidence between West and Muslims, and facilitates collaboration between people, civil society and government to address some of the development needs in Pakistan today.

Muslim Democracy works to historically deliver, both for Pakistan and world community so to speak about civil society and democracy, knowledge and learning, health, housing and economy, technology, industry and commerce, heritage and environment, alleviation of the sufferings of the poor, the sick and the needy, women emancipation and good governance, theological and political consensus, protection and welfare of minorities, support for responsible media, independence of judiciary, indigenous rule of the people, dignity and integrity of the government, Muslim Caliphate, Armed Forces, Law Agencies, and Islamic ethics of discipline, tolerance, knowledge, development, pluralism, interfaith harmony and global peace.

His Highness Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph, founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), today 30th January 2008 met with Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), for discussions on joint collaboration between the ADB and AKDN. The meeting preceded the signing of an agreement aimed at expanding the partnership between the two institutions.

“A strengthened partnership between ADB and the Aga Khan Development Network provides an effective channel for supporting inclusive development in the region, especially for the benefit of the poorest and most vulnerable people in society,” said Mr. Kuroda.

The Aga Khan’s younger brother, Prince Amyn Aga Khan, who signed the agreement on the Aga Khan’s behalf, thanked the ADB for its long-standing cooperation and lauded the Bank’s efforts to adopt a new long-term strategy this year in the face of growing challenges and opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Prince Amyn Aga Khan expressed confidence that the agreement will enable an intensification of the collaboration between the two institutions, thereby helping to transform the lives of many.

He added that the agreement is “an expression of our shared commitment to ensure that marginalized and impoverished areas of South and Central Asia receive the attention and support needed to alleviate poverty and to create stability in cross border areas, by connecting isolated communities, developing markets, incomes, and employment, and fostering an enabling environment.”

The joint ADB/AKDN agreement stresses the need “to find ways to undertake investments to connect the poor to the opportunities of growth and to connect services to the poor emanating from national and regional growth benefits.”

The ADB and the AKDN collaborate across multiple sectors in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India, and Pakistan. The agreement signed today reinforces the need for cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure, economic development, and human capacity building. It expresses the joint commitment of both institutions to local and regional ownership of development policies and programmes, long-term approaches to sustainable development, and investments which connect the poor to growth opportunities. Amongst the new areas for potential partnership are investments in higher education, including with the Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia.

Notes:

ADB, a major development institution in the Asia and Pacific region, seeks to foster economic growth, good governance, human resource development, and the reduction of poverty for the benefit of its developing member countries.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a group of private, non-denominational development agencies working to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East. The Network’s nine development agencies focus on social, cultural and economic development for all citizens, regardless of gender, origin or religion. The AKDN’s underlying ethic is compassion for the vulnerable in society. Its annual budget for social development is in excess of US$300million.

For more information please contact:

Jason Rush
Media Relations
Asian Development Bank
Tel: (632) 632-4444
www.adb.org

Aly Nazerali
European Representative and CEO
AKDN
3 Cromwell Gardens
London SW7 2HB
Tel: +442075916800
E-mail: aly.nazerali@akdn.org

www.ismaili.us

On the auspicious occasion of Eid ul Azha, Fatimid Heritage Foundation, Geneva Peace Development Centre and Mountain Girls Education Development Program extend hearty Eid Greetings to His Highness Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph, and the Ummah.

www.ismaili.us 

International Magazine for Collections, Apollo has declared Aga Khan as The International Personality of The Year.

Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph, is the 49th direct lineal descendant of Prophet Muhammad through his cousin and son-in-law, Aly, the first Imam-Caliph, and his wife Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter. Aga Khan is the rope of love, wisdom and unity among interpretations of the Faith, and also bridge of confidence between West and Muslims. This year, the world is celebrating Golden Jubilee of the Imamat Caliphate of His Highness the Aga Khan.

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Fatimid Heritage Foundation invites to join for a Development Gateway co-sponsored Global Dialogue on Mobile Government: The New Frontier in Transforming Public Services. The event will take place 08.30 - 11:00 am ET on November 29, 2007 in Washington D. C. and in Delhi; you can also join via live webcast and online discussion forum, or via videoconference from one of several other participating cities. The event is co-sponsored by the World Bank, the Development Gateway Foundation, e-GovWorld, e-Gov Monitor, and IIS-Russia.

Mobile services are quickly emerging as the new frontier for transforming government towards citizen-centricity and one-stop multi-channel delivery. They extend the benefits of remote delivery of government services and information to those who are unable or unwilling to access public services through the Internet or simply prefer to use mobile devices. In theory, many government services can now be made available on a 24×7x365 basis in any place covered by mobile networks, which today means almost everywhere.

According to an estimate by R. Chandrashekar, Additional Secretary (e-Gov), Government of India, (keynote speaker at this seminar), up to 50-60% of government services in India can be delivered via mobile channels. This emerging trend in public service delivery has often been called “Mobile Government” (M-Government) and is part of a broader phenomenon of mobile-enabled development (m-development), which leverages the mobile revolution to enable development impact. The organizers hope to address the following questions at the Global Dialogue on Mobile Government:

+ According to the ITU, the total number of mobile users worldwide as of late 2006 was about 2.7 billion and the number of internet users was just above 1.1 billion. Does this provide a strong case for leveraging mobile channels to dramatically improve access to public services to those who can afford to use a personal or shared mobile phone (e.g. as in Village Phone programs)? Does this create an opportunity to connect in the near future the next two billion people to the benefits of e-government, e-health, e-education, e-banking and e-commerce?
+ How exactly can Mobile Government transform the lives of common people in developing and transition countries? What are the best examples of such impact? + What are the types of services that can be easily provided on mobile phones/devices (”quick wins”) and what are the more strategic high-impact services (”killer applications”)?
+ What are the key constraints to making this vision a reality? What are the critical success factors and lessons learned?
+ Should government agencies and the development community take this opportunity to drastically improve access to information and services? How should governments and donors change the way they do business to take full advantage of mobile technologies?
+ What is the role of the private sector? Are there successful business models (e.g. PPP) for private sector companies to support value-added m-government services?

This Global Dialogue seminar is organized as an integral part of the eGovWorld 2007 Conference taking place in New Delhi on Nov. 29-30, 2007 (www.egovworld.org) and will connect a large and high profile audience in India with experts and e-government champions in other countries for sharing ideas on how to take public services transformation to the next level with the help of mobile technologies.
More information about this event is available at http://go.worldbank.org/RLCVF90NB0.
JOIN LIVE WEBCAST: http://www.worldbank.org/edevelopment/live (registration is not required but is recommended). If you would like to send in advance questions for speakers, or if you have any questions on how to access the webcast and e-discussion, please email edevelopment@worldbank.org.
JOIN DISCUSSION FORUM:
Fatimid Heritage Foundation strongly encourages you to post your views on the discussion forum created for this event to promote the good image of your respective counties, at:
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/egovernment/discussi…

P.S. Feel free to forward this invitation to all who may be interested!