PAD President, Dr Faisel Ikram announced the opening of the Pakistan Centre to the public during a message to the community as part of our live virtual Independence Day celebrations.

“On behalf of the community, PAD wishes a Happy Independence Day to all Pakistanis residing in the UAE. A historical day as our country was established after the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of people, young and old – giving us this gift today. The dream of Allama Iqbal, implemented by our Quaid became a reality for Muslims. UAE-based Pakistanis also saw a dream. A small office established in 1963 in Dubai by Dr Abdul Majeed was envisaged to become a large community centre for Pakistanis. With time, it prospered and today we can proudly say that it has become the world’s largest community centre for overseas Pakistanis. A journey that began 3 years ago, marks a milestone today as we open the Pakistan Centre to the public. A dream that seemed impossible, but was realized because of the efforts of our community.

Kids, adults, young, old, men, women – all played their role either with their skills, time or money. This is not just a gift to our community but to all communities as PMC – the GCC’s first not-for-profit healthcare facility – is a model of tolerance and will be open to all nationalities. Especially grateful to our Medical Wing – doctors and volunteers who worked day and night for 10 years to make this come true. It was certainly not an easy job, taking years of hard work to achieve. I’m also thankful to the Pakistan Consulate, the Pakistan Embassy, and the local authorities; the Community Development Authority (CDA) and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) for their kind cooperation. The journey doesn’t end here. We raised this dream but now the real deal is making it work. Along with PMC, the Pakistan Centre is home to a café, restaurant, gym, mosque, seminar rooms, an arts corner, Hub 47 for young entrepreneurs and a space dedicated to female entrepreneurship opportunities. Our aim is to support social welfare via the different components of the Pakistan Centre. We request you all to come forward and support us with our goal to serve the community. We have tried our best to build an ideal platform for our community to connect and inspire and I pray that together we continue to work for this association and for our country. Pakistan Association Dubai will keep working to serve our people. Pakistan Zindabad!