Our Journey
The Pakistan Association of Otago was established in August 2022 to bring together the Pakistani community living in the Otago region of New Zealand. The association's primary goal was to provide a platform for Pakistani expats to connect, socialize, and celebrate their culture and traditions.
Over the years, the association has grown in size and scope, and has become an integral part of the Otago community. It has organized a wide range of cultural and social events, such as Pakistan Independence Day celebrations, Multicultural Festivals, Eid festivals, Food Festivals and cricket tournaments, which have attracted participants from all backgrounds.
In addition to promoting Pakistani culture, the association has also played an active role in supporting its members and advocating for their rights. It has provided a range of services, such as translation and interpretation assistance, job referrals, and expert advice, to help members integrate into the local community and address their needs.
Moreover, the association has actively engaged with local government and community organizations to raise awareness about issues affecting the wider community, such as cultural insensitivity, discrimination, racism, and social isolation. It has also collaborated with other ethnic associations to promote diversity and inclusion in the region.
Overall, the Pakistan Association of Otago has come a long way since its inception, and has made significant contributions to the cultural, social, and political fabric of the Otago region. Its journey is a testament to the resilience, unity, and determination of the Pakistani community, and its commitment to making a positive impact in its chosen homeland, New Zealand.
Glimpses of the Potluck Iftar Dinner organised by Pakistan Association of Otago. A special shout out to our lovely ladies who put all the efforts to make this event a memorable one, special shout out to our Vice President Ms Humara Fiaz and our Executive Committee Member Ms Maimoona Saboor. Thank you team for your great efforts.
Multicultural Eid Chand Raat Carnival 🎡 🎡🎡
Pakistani, Middle Eastern, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Fijian, Moroccan, Afghani, Bengali, Sri Lankan, Syrian
Food Stalls
Henna Stalls
Face Painting
Kids Magic Show
Bouncy Castle
Cultural Dress Stalls
All under one roof
Friday 21st April 2023 5:30 pm onwards
Venue: Alhambra Union Hall
Multicultural Festival Project Review Meeting and Celebration Diner. Thank you to the winning team.
Pakistan Association of Otago would like to thank all the distinguished guests, the performers and the sponsors who came together for our support and made the multicultural festival a huge success. We are indebted to you all and look forward to having you in our events again soon.
Thank you 😊😍🥰🙏
Amazing variety and plenty of entertainment at yesterday’s multicultural festival organised by the Pakistan Association of Otago.
Flower girls show – a power pack performance by beautiful model princesses 👸🥰😍❤️⭐️
Some more glimpses ….. 🤩🥰😍🎉🙏❤️ thank you for all the love you showered upon us.
Congratulations to the Pakistan Association of Otago for arranging a hugely successful multicultural festival in Ōtepoti Dunedin yesterday – all those involved deserve a HUGE pat on the back..
Honoured to be invited to speak about how we need to continue to embrace and celebrate multiculturalism, and admonish those who would have it otherwise!
Muhammad Umair Zia
Thank you Pakistan Association of Otago for a really important and uplifting day of music, dance and food celebrating diversity and the many cultures in our region.
Congratulations Pakistan Association of Otago for a joyful multicultural festival this afternoon.
A free multi-cultural festival aims to bring together nations from around the world under one roof.
Pakistan Association of Otago president Umair Zia said the idea behind the show was to interact with people of different ethnicities and different cultural backgrounds.
https://www.odt.co.nz/the-star/festival-aims-bring-diverse-cultures-together
“The best views come after the hardest climb”
Glimpses of the seventh hike organised by Pakistan Association of Otago Sports and Wellness Wing.
Pakistan Association of Otago (PAO) is keen to promote healthy sports activities amongst the adult and youth of the community.
Many more sessions to come, watch this space. More photos to follow …
”You will never know what you are capable of until you take that first step and just go for it”….. 😊
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PAO Arts and Cultural Wing Head Dr Asrar Elahi organised a Boys Meet and Greet and Dinner.
The objective of this gathering was to improve the Wellbeing of our wonderful gentlemen and provide them an opportunity to share ideas, food and stories.
Community leadership has a huge role to play in NZ Communities. The Potential is not fully tapped in Multi Ethnic Communities and Pakistan Association of Otago has an active and ambitious strategy to bring everyone forward so they can contribute to the development of wider communities.
We are deeply thankful to our Arts and Cultural Wing Head Dr Asrar Elahi and all the respected gentlemen for making this a memorable night and a huge success, we missed the ones who couldn’t able to make it due to other commitments and overseas travels.
Pakistan Association of Otago, Head of Multi-ethnic Wing Dr. Muhammad Hassan met with Teresa Chan, Chair of Dunedin Shanghai Association and Leader of Otago & Southland Chinese Association and invited her to celebrate and participate in the Pakistan Multi Cultural Show and Food Festival.
Ms. Chan accepted the invitation to celebrate the multicultural show and promised to circulate the participation invite to the wider Chinese community. She also shared her warm greetings to the Pakistani community in Otago and wish the very best for the big event. We look forward to welcome Ms. Chan and all the distinguished guests in our multicultural show.
Shukria / Nga mihi
Team – Pakistan Association of Otago
“The best views come after the hardest climb”
Glimpses of the sixth hike organised by Pakistan Association of Otago Sports and Wellness Wing.
Pakistan Association of Otago (PAO) is keen to promote healthy sports activities amongst the adult and youth of the community.
Many more sessions to come, watch this space. More photos to follow …
”You will never know what you are capable of until you take that first step and just go for it”….. 😊
“It’s not how big you are, it’s how big you play”….
Glimpses of the Badminton Session organised by Pakistan Association of Otago Sports and Wellness Wing.
Pakistan Association of Otago (PAO) is keen to promote healthy sports activities amongst the adult and youth of the community.
Many more sessions to come, watch this space. More photos to follow….. 😊
”You will never know what you are capable of until you take that first step and just go for it”…..
Please join us for our third badminton session in Unipol. Unipol charges 6$ per person/session and has all the equipment available. Families are welcome to join. Hope to see you all there….
Please join us for our fifth walk this Sunday 29 January 2023, 5:20 am, right after Fajr prayers. We are going to trek along the Outram Glen track which runs by the scenic Taeiri river. Hope to see you all there 😊
PAO Business Wing Head Mrs Humera Sajjad organised a Ladies Meet and Greet and Bowling Night.
The objective of this gathering was to improve the Wellbeing of our lovely ladies and provide them an opportunity to share ideas, food and stories.
Women leadership has a huge role to play in NZ Communities. The Potential is not fully tapped in Multi Ethnic Communities and Pakistan Association of Otago has an active and ambitious strategy to bring women leaders forward so they can contribute to the development of wider communities.
We are deeply thankful to our Business Wing Head Mrs Humera Sajjad and all the respected ladies for making this a memorable night and a huge success, we missed the ones who couldn’t able to make it due to other commitments and overseas travels.
Please join us for our second badminton session this week on Thursday at 5pm. Unipol provides racquets in case you don’t own one. It is 6 dollars per session (no time cap on the session and can be long as we want it to be). Everybody including kids are welcome as well. Hope to see you all there 😊
“The best views come after the hardest climb” …. Glimpses of the hike organised by Pakistan Association of Otago Sports and Wellness Wing.
Pakistan Association of Otago (PAO) is keen to promote healthy sports activities amongst the adult and youth of the community.
PAO would like to thank our generous community members who brought lavish breakfast for the hike participants, Dr Habibullah for Aaloo kay Parathay with mint sauce, Dr Hanif for Garlic Mayo Chicken Roll, Dr Zohaib Rana Amjad Ali for Chapli Kabab Burgers, and Dr Sajjad Malik for Irish Tea. 😍🥰😊 Many more sessions to come, watch this space. More photos to follow…..
Pakistan Association of Otago (PAO), sports and wellness wing lead Dr Zohaib Rana Amjad Ali organised a Badminton and Pool Session.
PAO is keen to promote healthy sports activities amongst the adult and youth of the community. Many more sessions to come, watch this space.
Please join us for our fourth walk on the Tunnel Beach track right after Fajr on the 22nd of January! Hope to see you all there! 😊
Please join us for a badminton session this Thursday. Unipol has racquets to borrow. Per session, Unipol charges 6 dollars. The session can run for as long as we want to play for. It will be great fun, so hope to see you all there.
“The best views come after the hardest climb” …. Glimpses of the hike organised by Pakistan Association of Otago Sports and Wellness Wing. Official comms to follow.
Assalamoalaikum / Kia Ora community members,
On behalf of Pakistan Association of Otago we would like to congratulate our valued community member Waqas Ahmad on submitting his PhD thesis.
A ceremony was held at University of Otago where he rang the traditional bell 🔔 to mark the end of the long academic journey.
Members of the Pakistani Otago Community, Waqas PhD Supervisor, and University friends and colleagues attended the ceremony. Please join us in congratulating brother Waqas Ahmad for achieving such a great milestone. https://www.otago.ac.nz/otagobulletin/news/otago714849.html
Shukria / Nga mihi
Team – Pakistan Association of Otago
Please join us for our third walk to Mt Cargill this Sunday on the 15th of January right after Fajr prayers!
Glimpses of Ross Creek Adventure Trail Walk organised by Pakistan Association of Otago Sports and Wellness Wing.
Join us tomorrow for our second PAO wellness walk. Please see the poster for further details or contact if have any queries or suggestions for future walks that you would like to join.
Glimpses of Quaid-e-Azam Day, New Year Celebrations and Multicultural Festival Planning and Rehearsal Day organised by Pakistan Association of Otago – 01
Glimpses of Pakistan Association of Otago Cherry Picking 🍒 and Picnic Event 🧺
Pakistan Association of Otago invites all community members to join us for Quaid-e-Azam Day and New Year Celebrations
Pakistan Association of Otago invites all community members to join us in this fun filled family event
“The best views come after the hardest climb” …. Glimpses of the hike organised by Pakistan Association of Otago. Official comms to follow…
PAO would like to invite all community members for this adventurous and fun filled trail walk. It is of medium difficulty (not suitable for kids under 16).
We are lucky to have highly professional Board Members
From Left to Right
Abdul Saboor (Secondary Systems Manager) , Sajjad Malik (Business Man) and Dr. Junaid Qureshi ( Operational Performance Manager)
Assalamualaikum / Kia Ora
Respected community members
Pakistan Association of Otago supports the need for Safe and Resident communities. We are supporting this Neighbourhood Support initiative.
Community connections are highly important when it comes to emergencies.
This is a great opportunity to enjoy the beautiful colour of NZ’s diverse culture. We have limited seats due to space constraints. Please RSVP as soon as possible.
Shukria / Nga mihi
Team – Pakistan Association of Otago
Assalamualaikum / Kia Ora
Respected community members
Pakistan Association of Otago would like to congratulate our valued community member Dr. Sandaleen Feroz on her PhD thesis submission.
Assalam-o-alaikum / Kia Ora
Respected community members
Dunedin Chinese Community celebrated The Moon Festival at Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden, which is traditionally a time of celebrating hope and renewal, and a special time for family members to come together. A time for gatherings, sharing of food, games, and entertainment.
Assalamoalaikum / Kia Ora
Respected community members
Pakistan Association of Otago would like to congratulate our very own Dr Junaid Ahmed Qureshi (The Chairperson of the Board – Pakistani Association of Otago) for the award of PhD qualification in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from The Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.
He completed this doctoral qualification while working full time and supporting his young family. He also became the finalist for the Electricity Engineers Association Young Engineer of the Year 2022 award. He is an inspiration for many young professionals and is always available to support and help many to achieve their goals.
Assalamualaikum/Kia Ora,
Respected Community Members,
All of us have a role to play in Zero carbon future and clean environment.
Pakistan Association of Otago attended the Dunedin Multi-Ethnic Council event and had positive interaction with the local Cummunity and DMEC Team. We are looking forward to work togather towards a shared vision for our communities.
Assalam-o-alaikum / Kia Ora
Respected community Members,
Business Wing Lead of Pakistan Association of Otago, Humaira Sajjad organised a Ladies Meet and Greet Night on 25th Sep 2022.
Asalaam-o-Alaikum / Kia Ora
Pakistan Association of Otago (PAO) held 75th Pakistan Independence Day celebrations in Dunedin on 21 August 2022.