News & Events

Dearest colleagues,

Thank you all for gathering today on this auspicious day, when we will transition into the new administration of SOBA. The list of achievements is increasing, and for this, we have much to thank individuals such as ACM Tahir Rafiq Butt. Over the previous tenure, much work has been done, and as I recount them below, let this not be an occasion for boasting, but rather to inculcate within us satisfaction that hard work and consistency can achieve much.

The biggest achievement so far is creation of a Memorandum of Understanding which will form the basis of our constitution. There has been much talk over many years to carry out this needful task, and it is only now that this has finally come to creation. This constitution shall henceforth be the legal and operational foundation upon which SOBA activities shall be carried out. For this, we are cannot thank enough, and are forever indebted to the tireless efforts of Varris bhai, who was also ably assisted by Wahid Khursheed.

Another major achievement was the approval of an office site for SOBA at Sargodha. This was a team effort, whereby Air Chief Marshall Sohail Aman approved and provided the location; and Sohail Shafi and Sohail Raza, both dear batchmates of mine, provided 4 million Rupees and created a fully functional, state of the art website, respectively. Yours truly coordinated these efforts.

On the financial front, SOBA has been provided a sum of 1 million Rupees, to be used to further the organization. We have followed the principal of religiously keeping the amount intact; using means other than dipping into this kitty to fulfill our needs. Due to the generous efforts of SOBA members, we have managed to achieve much and spend next to nothing. In fact, we have managed to grow this amount further, by investing it in fixed deposits.   

SOBAs original function was to bring together old boys who graduated from Sargodha through festive occasions. On this original front, we have maintained our tradition, hosting a number of events over the past few months with good attendance and even better food. These included small get-togethers such as the one hosted for Ana bhai; Hi-Tea and dinner for SST and Tasneem Noorani bhai; brunches on Basant and the larger one held in lieu of Sargodha get-together cancellation; and our crowning and most recent achievement of hosting a dinner and musical evening attending by the illustrious ACM Mujahid.

Other achievements include reduction in the membership of Airman Golf club for SOBA members, induction of new members, and setting up and maintenance of our email and Facebook resources.

Going forward, our ambition should contain the same zeal as previous. Our future plan is to start working under the new constitution; to continue with social gatherings, including the major reunion planned for year-end; site; site updates; and increasing membership. And dare I enter my own dream into this: a university in Karachi that rivals the likes of the great MIT in the US and IITs in India.

Further, let us contribute our efforts in a realistic manner. Promises and duties unfulfilled leads to chaos and confusion. It is not a matter of those who contribute the most are the best among us, but rather those can contribute with the left-over time from their busy lives, that show their real character.

On a final note, let go into the future on a positive and constructive note. It is better to find solution than to find ills and leave it at that. Imagine a doctor following such a course of action, and what havoc it would wreak. Let us work towards a SOBA that is healthy, well run, and looking towards the future filled with achi