WASHINGTON, Aug 10 : Pakistan\u2019s sporting greats \u2014 Shahid Afridi and Jahangir Khan \u2014 held a meeting with the Pakistani community leaders and activists on Wednesday during which they underscored the need for improving the conditions of the country\u2019s under-privileged communities, hit hard by the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
Boom Boom Afridi and Khan, the six times world squash champion, are in the United States to raise funds for the Shahid Afridi Foundation (SAF), which is working to uplift the poor and downtrodden strata of society.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistan is the most philanthropic and giving nation on the face of the earth, and Pakistani-Americans are no exception,\u201d Pakistan\u2019s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, said while welcoming the two heroes at the Pakistani embassy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw him (Afridi) distributing food in Azad Kashmir during the pandemic; his selfless services saved hundreds from starvation during the most challenging time.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Afridi was the driving force behind the Kashmir Premier League, which faced heavy odds but is now a \u201csuccess story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paying tribute to legendary Jahangir Khan, the Pakistani envoy said that he was a source of inspiration for the nation. \u201cChildren are named after Jahangir Khan,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom sporting heroes, Shahid Afridi and Jahangir Khan have become humanitarian heroes with their selfless services to the people. We salute them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shahid Afridi said that he started his humanitarian activities in 2011 with the establishment of a hospital in his village. The organization has so far established five mobile health hospitals to provide healthcare services to the people of far-flung area.
\n\u201cPakistan has given me what I cannot even imagine \u2014 so I am trying to do my bit for my people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Afridi especially lauded the role of Pakistan Army for facilitating him in reaching out to the people living in difficult terrains.<\/p>\n
Jahangir Khan said that serving the under-privileged in the motherland was a unique honour.<\/p>\n
He highlighted that the Shahid Afridi Foundation \u2014 with its registered chapters in USA, UK, Australia, & South Africa \u2014 was serving underserved communities of Pakistan in critical areas of education, health, clean drinking water, sports rehabilitation and emergency relief response.<\/p>\n
He appreciated the generous contributions of Pakistani diaspora enabling the foundation to expand the scope of its activities.<\/p>\n
Dr. Attique Samdani, a partner and Co- Owner of Virginia Cancer Institute, Richmond and Chair of SAF US chapter, said that the Foundation\u2019s services were being provided to the deserving people in a completely transparent manner.<\/p>\n
He said that over 20,000 families were currently benefitting from the water filtration plants installed by the foundation, and fourteen girls schools were functioning. Besides provision of education, the families were being provided rations and other necessities of life as an incentive to ensure education of their children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON, Aug 10 : Pakistan\u2019s sporting greats \u2014 Shahid Afridi and Jahangir Khan \u2014 held a meeting with the Pakistani community leaders and activists on Wednesday during which they underscored the need for improving the conditions of the country\u2019s under-privileged communities, hit hard by the economic crisis. Boom Boom Afridi and Khan, the six times […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-348364","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n