East-West Centre Alumni Association –Islamabad elects new leadership

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad chapter of the East-West Centre Alumni Association held its annual elections for the 2025-2026 terms, bringing together alumni to elect new leadership, said a press release.

A statement issued here said that elections were held through secret balloting under the supervision of the election committee. Nominees were required to submit their candidacy a day prior to the election, in accordance with the chapter’s guidelines.

Afzal Khan Mandokhel was elected as the president with the majority of votes. He was an alumnus of the 26th New Generation Seminar, a three-country EWC programme held in Honolulu, Phnom Penh and Yangon in the year 2016.

Muhammad Ashraf was elected unopposed as Vice President, while Faiz Paracha, a journalist by profession, was elected as General Secretary. Faiz is an alumnus of the East-West Center’s Cross-Border Reporting Fellowship between India and Pakistan (2022), held in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The newly elected executive committee members included Tahir Amin, Shakirullah, Ashfa Hashmi and Sanam Junejo. The election marked a continued tradition of democratic norms and transparency within the alumni network, the statement said.

Dr Faisal Arjumand, the founding president, along with the outgoing president and former federal secretary Abu Akif congratulated the new leadership.

Outgoing team members including, Tayyaba Gul, Dr Asad Ghuffran and Usman Rafique extended full support to the newly elected team.

The newly-elected President Afzal Khan Mandokhel stated his resolve to reinvigorate the EWCA Islamabad chapter to bring the US and Pakistan closer through people-to-people diplomacy and identify young leaders who could be nominated for EWC programmes.

General Secretary Faiz Paracha echoed the views, stating, “We will work to transform the Islamabad chapter into a dynamic hub of ideas and action – connecting alumni through impactful initiatives, strategic collaborations and meaningful opportunities that reflect the EWC’s global spirit right here in Pakistan.”

The centre is an education and research organisation established by the US Congress in 1960, to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples of Asia, the Pacific and the United States. In 2021, EWC was ranked 4th in a University of Pennsylvania institute’s annual list of best government-affiliated think tanks worldwide, as per the statement.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025