Saman is originally from Lahore and finished her undgraduate studies in Computer Sciences from LUMS.

She is the Pakistani “rebel with a cause” and our new addition to the ABN Chicago team. She also does a show on Chicago Public Radio, Vocalo.org (89.5FM) which airs every Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm. A journalist who has dabbled in print, broadcast and now radio, considers herself a “citizen of the world who will make sure she leaves this place a lot better.” Having lived in Nigeria, Pakistan and now the US for about every decade of her life, she belongs to many places and revels in the differences of cultures and people. She claims that “we really are all one and the same at the end of the day.” She hopes to bring a different perspective and speak about a multitude of issues which have yet remained invisible to us as Americans and Pakistanis. Of course, you will hear the rant and just so you know, she has a sense of humour which borders on sarcasm so brace yourself for a dose of that! She takes things that are meant to be serious a bit too seriously but then “sometimes things are just too funny to be taken seriously”!

She pursued studies in Mass Communications from University of Houston. Just a few days after the women’s day, I think it is a matter of pride for ABN teamand also for the Pakistanis at home and abroad for being elected as a “Pakistani Women Journalist” to represent the American Women Working Journalist Community. This clearly shows that Pakistani women can do a lot more than how those are being portrayed generally.

We are all proud of you Saman !

Welcoming our new team member, Saman Sheikh who is originally from Lahore and now works for PBS Chicago Public Television as a Web Producer who has accepted to be part of our team. Also introduced new talent, Muhammad Motan who is techie and has excelled itself in fixing gadgets such as Iphone and complex computer equipment. followed by an interview with Masrur Ahmad (son of Late Munzir Ahmed)
Munzir Ahmad (1903-1986) was born in Delhi and went to school in Aligarh. He then studied law and graduated from Delhi University. Despite his literary lineage, he became fascinated by game hunting during his student days. His love for nature and the pursuit of his hobby took him to the jungles of the “United Provinces” where he spent 40 years interacting with nature and wildlife. Like most big-game shikaris, his long association with wildlife and “big cats”, brought about a metamorphosis in his relationship with wildife. Munzir Ahmad’s book, Big Cats of India, is a record of his observations of the lives and ways of big cats in their natural habitat.

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Hour 3
Discussion on various topics of interest with the callers and our new team members Saman Sheikh
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Hour 2: Rabiul Awal Special Naat by Naila Mughal. Followed by a discussion on the topic “Rediscovering Islam in South Asia”. The discussion participants were Kashiful Huda of twocircles.net and Zubair Hudawi, a resident of Kerala and now doing research on Islamic Education in Jawahir Lal Nehru University.

The discussion was based on when the first muslims came to India.
The first Mosque of South Asia was Cheraman Mosque and the guests provided the historical significance of this masjid. This masjid was built in the 5th Hijra.

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Two circles did a series on the rich history of Malabar Muslims Click Here

Hour 3: Rabiul Awal Special. Naat recitation, updates from Rauf Tabani

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Hour 2:
ABN Chicago interviews Renowned Politician, Student Activist, founding member of PPP, Mr.Mairaj Mohammad Khan on the history of Pakistan Politics, History of student Politics and the incident who turned the student community into a force against Ayub Khan’s regime by taking over a Convention League Convention in Polo Ground in 1963. Discussion on a dilemma of having too much dependence on one leader as opposed to have multiple cadre of leadership among political parties and the reasons for it. Level of disagreements within the party on various issues. Current situation. A number of people called and asked questions.

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Hour 3 : Remaining portion of the interview and followed by the discussion on the recent initiative called “Aman Ki Asha” of Jang and Times of India

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Hour 2:  Discussion on celebrating Valentine’s Day , Expatriots in Chicago calling in and giving their opinions against celebrating Valentine’s day and concerned about how this was celebrated with so much fervour in Pakistan in recent months and also the way TV Channels have promoted this event by doing special programs and shows.

This was followed by an Exclusive Interview with Veteran Journalist and News Anchor of Express News  and popular show “Center Stage”. A candid interview on various topics related to the current electronic media. A number of questions were raised by the viewers on the selection of topics and bringing in same guests in almost every talkshow and too much dragging of issues such as NRO and others to a point where the common man lost interest. Also not focussing on the The state of maturity of media in Pakistan as it relates to the recent events and especially the misuse of the concept of “Breaking News” in our South Asian media.

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Hour 3: Continued Interview with Fahad Hussain and followed by discussion on  various topics. Listerners calling in for various topics of interest.

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 Hour 2:  Aziz Burney Interview - Hosted by Dr. Mujahid Ghazi, Khurram Habib and Jibran Ilyas

Renowned Indian Journalist, Dr. Aziz Burney (a  physician turned journalist),  Editor of Urdu Sahara one of the largest Newspaper of Urdu which has 22 Editions. In a pre-independence India no one has so much of responsibility in Urdu Journalism at this level which Aziz has from Delhi.  He is one of the fearless journalist who are attached to the cause of Muslims in India. He is being branded as Fundamentalist journalist due to his close pulse on Muslim persecution in India. His commedable effort of writing a book which documented all the eyewitness account of the affected people of Gujrat Riots, his serials columns on Malegaon blasts and the 26/11 attacks. Books he wrote: Chasham deed Gawah , Radday Amal (on the best bakery case) , India Looses Freedom, Saddam Hussain from President to Prisoner
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Hour 3 - Discussion on Ghandi and Jinnah based on Mujalla compiled by Shahran Asim
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Hour 2 : Interview with Hockey Legend Islahuddin on his recent autobiography which is recently published. Listerners called and asked questions. Outside-right Islahuddin, who was vice-captain at Montreal 1976 Olympic , had emerged as one of Pakistan hockey’s most successful captains hockey where during his tenure Pakistani Hockey team won Olympics, Champions Trophy and Asian Games, World Cup. He was famous for his Dashes during Penalty corner and frustrated a number of famous especialist during those times. Islahuddin’s stint as Pakistan hockey skipper ended in a blaze of glory. Under him, his team defeated arch-rivals India in the final of the Asian Games at Bangkok in 1978 through a 1-0 win. It was Pakistan’s fifth gold medal in six tournaments at this level. Islahuddin was given Pride of Performance and also honorary citizenship of Houston, he was also an coach for of Pakistani Hockey team as well recently.

Just recently wrote a book ” A Dash Through my life” which was inaugurated in Karachi.

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This was followed by Steve Bernstein who is running for Judge in upcoming local elections.

Hour 3: US local elections coverage. Interview with Governor of Illinois Pat. Quinn who is running for elections.
His website is quinnforillinois.com

This was followed by Toni Precwinkle.
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Hour 2 - Kamijee Interview by Jibran Ilyas
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Kamijee talked about his journey as a musician, association with Junaid Jamshed and Shoaib Mansoor, the story of his band Aaroh and the controversial breakup, his new life in Chicago and the story of his new solo Album “Jeevan”

Kamijee Bio:

Kamijee is a name that brings all the senses into work when one listens to his music. His music is as diverse as his audience, which is for a macrocosm. Kamijee is not only a seasoned music composer/arranger, but also a remarkable photographer, director and an editor. When all these skill sets are combined, what is produced is an organic global sound, which is the sound from the heart, for the hearts!

Kamijee’s work is synonymous with multiple names, such as Shoaib Mansoor, Junaid Jamshed (Us rah par & Dil ki baat) and Aaroh. His accomplishments and achievements have made major contributions in the fields of pop, rock and film music (Rakht & Khuda Kay Liye). With an extensive experience of over 18 years, Kamijee has produced a number of hit albums and songs in South East Asia.

After spending a valuable time in North America for the past 6 years, composing and recording, Kamijee returns to mesmerize his fans once again, this time with his most anticipated solo album, “Jeevan”.

More info at http://www.kamijee.com
Facebook Event Page - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=301347839127

Hour 3 - Interview with Rauf Klasra (cont. from last 10 mins of 2nd hour) + Raja Krishnamoorthi Interview
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Former Deputy Illinois State Treasurer Raja Krishnamoorthi has the government experience and stellar legal and educational credentials to help reform government and bring greater transparency to the state’s finances. He has consistently demonstrated the leadership to challenge the corruption in state government and contracting that has contributed to the record state deficit.

A longtime friend of Barack Obama, Raja worked on Obama’s successful 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate, serving first as the issues director for his primary campaign and then as a senior adviser in his general election campaign. Raja also advised Obama during his Presidential campaign and worked on his 2000 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives.

More at: http://www.rajaforillinois.com/free_details.asp?id=1

Hour 2: Discussion on the current cook county board president election campaign and discussion on why to participate in local politics and elections.

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Hour 3: Cook county board President and contender for the upcoming elections, Todd Stroger was in the show. The audience asked a number of questions on his election manifesto.

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Hour 2: Naveen Naqvi Interview by Dr. Mujahid Ghazi and Jibran Ilyas

Naveen Naqvi is a senior anchor at Pakistan’s first English language news channel, Dawn News and presented the morning news programme, Breakfast at Dawn until November 2009. The Dawn group is the most prestigious media outlet in Pakistan. Before joining DawnNews, Naqvi worked with NBC News out of Islamabad. During this time, she also wrote for their online publication, MSNBC.com.

Previously Naveen Naqvi was a runway, print and television commercial model. She was a known television actor with serials such as Nangay Paon and Angar Wadi to her credit. Naqvi first appeared on television as a music show host, Music Channel Charts. This was the first music chart show on Pakistani television, making her the first video jockey (VJ) of the country. Naveen was the model in Junoon’s “Ni Heerey” music video.

She talks about her journey from modeling to New Anchoring, her thoughts on the alternative medium of blogging and other initiatives taken by the active members of civil society.

Download Here: http://www.4shared.com/file/193552964/81fb3bbd/TR011010HR2.html

Hour 3: Discussion on Kalsoom Lakhani’s blog which is a voice of every EX-Patriot Pakistani Living in the US on the new screening regulations at the US airports for the passengers coming from 11 Muslim countries Blog Entry on Pakistan getting into the list on “countries of interest” in regards to Airport security
Lead by Dr. Mujahid Ghazi and Jibran
Listen to the voice of Pakistanis who voiced their anger and frustration against this situation. Also some callers called for introspection on our own policies and inefficiencies.
Heated arguments. Discussing the impact on the American born Pakistani Children who are being racially profiled on airports. The concept of Random Security Checking and the written law vs the real experience for US Citizens of Pakistani origin. Heated arguments from various callers. The callers asked the government to take a firm stand and should do the same on their airports.
Must Listen.
Download here: http://www.4shared.com/file/193584585/bc9e44ac/TR011010HR3.html