ATTENDANCE: The programmes attracted a huge number of people.

By Umer Nangiana

A plethora of Pakistani artistes including folk and Pashto singers from provincial capitals Lahore and Peshawar enthralled a large audience of Pakistani expatriates at Al Wakrah Sports Stadium over two days Qatar’s National Day on December 18.
Popular comedians joined the array of singers from Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan along with local schoolchildren to set up the stage at the stadium, as part of the cultural and entertainment activities slated for this year’s Qatar National Day.
The celebrations started early in the evening on December 17 and continued till late night the next day. The activities featured folk songs and anthems on theme of National Day besides performance and parades by school children.
The function was attended by Pakistani Ambassador Shahzad Ahmad, Defence Attaché Masood Akram, Community Welfare Attaché Rashid Nizam and other officials of the embassy.
Brig Abdulla Khalifa al-Muftah, Director Public Relations Ministry of Interior (MoI) Qatar, was the chief guest. Event Management Committee of the Pakistani community headed by Abdul Jenan Bangash, and supported by Ashraf Siddiqui, prominent community representatives, co-ordinated the event that was held under the patronage of National Day celebrations organising committee in association with the MoI.
Brig Al-Muftah presented trophies to Ambassador Ahmad and the community representative Bangash, in recognition of their leadership and participation in community festivities on the occasion.
From their side, the organising committee presented trophies and shields of appreciation to MoI Communities Outreach Officer Faisal Hudawi. For the first time, prominent Pakistani nationals who have won laurels for Qatar in different fields, particularly sports, were also recognised with shields of appreciation from the event organising committee. The shields were given to Pakistanis who won awards and medals for Qatar’s national under 19 squash and golf teams.
Masood Khawaja, a popular TV artiste and comedian, has been a prominent feature of many previous ceremonies in Qatar. He was once again there to enthral the audience with jokes. Khawaja who shot to fame after appearing in ATV’s (a Pakistani television channel) popular comedy show Khawaja Online, performed in Doha for the third time.
Khalid Malik, Waheed Achakzai, Nelo, Afshan Zaibi, Hina Asif, Wafa Afghanistan, Rahim Master, Omar Gul and Khalida Yasmin were among the performers who flew in from Pakistan.
The Bangladeshi community also showcased a number of events at the same venue. Along with community groups, the students of the Pakistan Education Centre, Bangladesh School, Bhavan’s Public School, Shantiniketan Indian School and TNG participated in the celebrations at Al Wakrah.
Besides Al Wakrah, expatriate communities from South Asia also perform at Al Khor Sports Club, Al Rayyan Sports Club and Asian Town.
The morning programmes included inter-school cultural competitions with group songs and a thematic Qatar show followed by performances by communities. In the afternoon, students competed in thematic performances, general shows and songs followed by cultural performances by communities.
Entry was free for all nationalities. There were special seating arrangements for families at all venues. Arrangements were also in place for companies to bring their workers to the show.
A number of teams and organisations joined various competitions and events at the venue, which witnessed art competitions and cultural shows.
The programme started at 4pm on December 17 and resumed on December 18 at 8am until 10pm, with breaks for prayers and lunch.
The Asian Town amphitheatre also witnessed a mega Qawwali programme on the evening of December 17 as part of the QND celebration. Qawwali songs were presented by the renowned Sabri brothers from Rajasthan, India.