Historian, poet, writer, journalist Ahmad Salim

Ahmad Salim gave a talk on "Preservation and Promotion of Archives in Pakistan" at UC Berkeley.

Books by Ahmad Salim

Ahmad Salim with Raka Ray (left) and Puneeta Kala of Center for South Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Audience's questions to Orhan Pamuk were routed through Aron Rodrigue, Professor of History, who in his introduction speech called Pamuk his Hum-Shehri.

Orhan Pamuk at Stanford. [You can tell I needed a telephoto lens]

Orhan Pamuk's audience at Memorial Auditorium, Stanford

Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk spoke at Stanford last night

Does anyone see an end to the violence the war on terror has kindled?
(October 18 act of terrorism in Karachi killed over 130 people.)

[Photo, courtesy of Associated Press/B.K.Bangash]

An older video interview with Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa was also screened.

Ijaz Syed, a prominent Bay Area activist, provided insights into current Pakistani politics.

Author of Military, Inc., Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa, was due in the Bay Area to give talks at Stanford (Sep 28) and Berkeley (Oct 1). See here:
http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/events/siddiqa/
Unfortunately, Dr. Siddiqa fell seriously ill in New York and could not come to California. FOSA sent cancellation notices, but organizers still met at Stanford venue to entertain those who did not get the news.
David Merritt, author of 20th Century American Struggle 21st Century Hope, read excerpts from Military, Inc., and talked about his travel observations in Pakistan.

A reviewer watching program being recorded in GTV studio

Tashie Zaheer (middle) and Asghar Aboobaker (right) at GTV office

Agha Saeed (on left), host of GTV programs, talking to the attendees of the meeting.

Global Forum TV (GTV) out of Newark, California
On Saturday, October 6, I attended a program review meeting at GTV office in Newark. GTV is a media effort of AMA (American Muslim Alliance). GTV does not seem to have a functional web site yet [http://www.globalforumtv.net/], but the news of its inauguration is covered here:
http://www.amaweb.org/images/special/INAUGRATED%20BY%202%20CONGRESSMEN.pdf

I went to the program review meeting in response to the following email from Tashie Zaheer, a known figure in Pakistani and Muslim community of the Bay Area.

[The picture above shows GTV administrators and program reviewers at Chandni Restaurant after the session at GTV office.]

-------------------------
Dear Friends,

Assalam O Alikum

Ramadan Mubarak

I am sending you this letter to invite you for an iftar dinner at the Global Forum TV (GTV) Office on Sunday, October 7 at 4:00 PM. Alhumdullilah, the Global Forum TV has made significant strides in the last few months. Here is a brief progress report about the Global Forum TV.

1 - By Allah's grace, as of today we have produced 53 different programs which include: "The New International Media", "Interreligious Communication", "The Continued Struggle for Civil Rights", "Iraq War and The Media", "The New South Asian Cinema", "Globalization", "Pakistan and Pakistani Americans", "American Politics", "Pakistan's 2007-2008 elections", "Ideology and Identity", "Peace Prospects in South Asia", "The Progressive Movement", "The Contemporary Relevance of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad", "Faiz, Jalib and the Movement for Democracy", and "US Immigration Policy: Debates and Directions".

2 - Recently, one of our team members has taped an eight-part series on "India 2025" comprising of interviews with a number of key thinkers and leaders including former Indian Prime Minister I. K. Gujral.

3 – We have also started producing another program titled " The mind behind the book". This program is designed to survey the finest Western minds as well as to capture and convey America's internal debates rooted in its intellectual and moral dilemmas. In the last four weeks we have interviewed Peter Dale Scott ( The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America), David Cole (Less Safe, Less Free: Why America is Losing War on Terror?) and Robert Pape (Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism )

4 - We are in the process of finalizing distribution agreements with major TV Channels in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.

5 - In late October we will initiate our Weekly UN Interview series.

6 - Presently we have scheduled six interviews on Sunday, October 7. We are asking you to join the GTV crew and guests for an Iftar Dinner on that evening at 4: 00 PM. You can thus watch the last panel being taped, hear the progress report, provide recommendation for further improvement, and join us for the Iftar dinner.

The basic purpose is to seek your input and advice. Please confirm your participation in the GTV Iftar at your earliest.

Warm Regards,

Tashie Zaheer

President,

GTV Advisory Committee & GTV Community Relations Committee