Membership Form

 

Associations of Pakistani Professionals aspire to become a movement rather than merely an organization. The primary goal of this effort is to help the Western World, especially the people of United States understand Pakistan better. And this cannot happen without a positive engagement with the U.S. media. AOPP has provoked responses from major publications in the last 27 months of its existence. We have sent hundreds of letters, e-mails, and faxes to major publications like New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, and Economist and to a host of other smaller publications across the country. This great land, adopted homeland of many of us, is a land of free speech and we must use this right in its true spirit. AOPP provides you a forum for this endeavor and we are trying our best within limited resources to be up to the mark in terms of technology - an automated website building links between you and the Media is in the offing. Another step forward for AOPP will be the publication of a handbook on Pakistan with contributions from leading Pakistani journalists, academicians and intellectuals on how they see the contemporary Pakistan along with the success stories of Pakistani's in the United States. We intend to show by example what we mean by objective, neutral and balanced coverage of issues. This dream can become a reality - but only with your support and guidance.

Please fill out the Membership Form

Achievements

1. Media Awareness Conferences: We held several media awareness conferences during the past year and a half. The idea behind these media awareness conferences was to embed the idea of voicing our opinion and to show the community ways to communicate with western journalist's and think tanks. Media Awareness Conferences took place in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Palo Alto and Washington. We helped several cities to hold there independent media awareness events. These places includes cities like Ohio, Detroit, Boston and Washington.

2. Focus Group Meetings: We organized brainstorming sessions to dissect the rational behind media bias against Pakistan. One such event took place at Columbia University earlier this year titled, " Pakistan and the Western Media" to understand the structure, dynamics and functioning of western media and how to tackle news and respond to news items pertaining to Pakistan. We also collaborated with other organizations to participate in Learning day on Pakistan where we interacted with our American Media.

3. DVD on Pakistan: A 4 minute DVD, a personal patriotic project by our founding and executive member Mr. Munir Mashooqullah is showcased in several meetings and mailed to several think tanks and journalists around the country to give the other side of Pakistan.

4. Proactive: We continue to send "Need Response" mails to our members at regular basis. Last year we sent 367 Need Response Mails, essentially responding to 367 articles or editorials about Pakistan. Our average per need response mail was 40 letters. However, our highest tally was 304 letters for a single need response mail.

5. Pakistan First: We posted several "Action Alerts" on issues that confronted Pakistan during past year and a half. Our average reply per Action Alert was 1003 with the highest being approximately 15000 letters sent about Special Registration and 13000 signatures for brutal murder of Nabeel Siddiqui.

6. Volunteer Work: Online registration was offered to keep track of all  the people who were required to register for INS special registration. Example at http://aopp.org/ins-form.htm

7. Advertisement to show solidarity with the people of U.S.A:  AOPP participated with several Pakistani and Muslim organizations to show unity in the publication of half page add in leading newspapers like New York Times, LA Times, USA Today on the first anniversary of Sept 11th.

8. Editorial Board of AOPP: The Editorial Committee of AOPP  prepared several  in-depth analysis of important issues pertaining to Pakistan (continue to monitor the situation closely) and regularly came up with precise and articulate letter that was forwarded to Editorial Boards of leading newspapers, think tanks and congressional leaders. 

9. Journalistic Database: This database provide us with enormous resources to search about a particular writer and his writing about Pakistan. We can tell precisely what the writer to wrote in today's piece and what his views were six month back. Our new website will have a detailed journalistic as well as congressional database to help us research about writer, newspaper, think tank or congressional leader about issues pertaining to Pakistan.

10. Black and White: Several members of the editorial board of AOPP were successful in getting there message across through their op/ed's, letters to the editor and expressing their opinion about Pakistan in electronic media.
     

     

 

Projects:

1. AOPP wants to bring out a hardcover book ‘Handbook on Pakistan’ to provide mainstream American policy experts, scholars and western media with diverse point of views on issues that confront Pakistan and the United States. Our objective is to deepen understanding of social, political, cultural and gender issues, and show the many different realities of Pakistan, not just the single perspective defined by Western media.

2. Effective use of internet to empower the community. Enhanced Web-Site is in offing and will built by end of this year more detailed features catered to help community voice there opinion.

3. We want to bring the success stories of Pakistan at fore-front; for this we plan to start a program soon to list the achievements of Pakistani's in the U.S.A and around the world.

4. Regular Media Awareness Events, Focus groups and braining storming session for better Pakistan.

    

    

   

Please fill out the Membership Form