Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital Fundraiser in Sacramento
By Ras H. Siddiqui
The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital story is over 30 years old now. Its visionary founder Imran Khan first arrived in Northern California (specifically San Francisco at the Hyatt Regency) on September 29, 1991 (to be specific). Accompanying him at that event was a then lesser known Qawwali Master by the name of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and actress Musarrat Nazir, with a local band named Legend opening the entertainment. It was a significant evening in many ways, but we will get to that later.
That event brought together prominent members of the local Pakistani (and Indian) community, philanthropists, and Imran Khan’s cricket supporters, all dedicated to advancing healthcare initiatives in Pakistan through the construction of its first donation driven cancer hospital inspired by a son’s loss of his mother to the dreaded disease. Attendees participated in an engaging evening featuring a keynote speech by Imran, inspiring patient stories, and a charity auction, all aimed at raising vital funds for cancer treatment and research. Tickets were sold out, and (it appeared) that there were more people than seats.
Thirty-four years later the legacy of this cancer hospital vison lives on. Pakistan already has two running Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospitals in Lahore and Peshawar, while a third in Karachi is under construction with an opening scheduled for the end of year 2026. Let us hope and pray that it meets its opening target and for that to happen fundraisers need to continue worldwide, even without its main spokesperson present. The Karachi hospital is the most ambitious and expensive one to be constructed under the Shaukat Khanum umbrella to date because it is larger than both the Lahore and Peshawar hospitals combined (just like Karachi which is larger than both cities combined).
This was a big weekend for Shaukat Khanum (SK) fundraising in Northern California starting on Friday, September 26 th in Stockton; Saturday, September 27 th in Fremont, and Sunday September 28, 2025, in Sacramento, California where this writer was present. On hand to deliver the evening keynote speech was Dr Faisal Sultan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust. And accompanying him and adding star power to the event were Pakistani television and movie stars Wahaj Ali and Maya Ali. As expected, attendance here was the smallest of the three events as it was the last of the series, but it ended up being the most family-focused, because the stars were not concerned about being mobbed here and could relax too.
The evening started with a delicious dinner served at the Town & Country Event Center (thanks Waqar Bhai and Chef Aamir). Event co-emcees were Waqar Rizvi and Farah Khwaja who did a wonderful job with the introductions in both Urdu and English. The formalities started with a fine Qur’an Recitation by Hafiz Usman Khalid who also presented the English translation of the verses. This was proceeded by the playing of the national anthems of Pakistan and the United States.
Rizvi first recognized Kamran Malik, Khizur Kamran, Farooq Azhar, Javaid Akhtar, Qumar Ashraf and Dr Wajahat Khan, the organizers of the event. Farah Khwaja gave a background of the Shaukat Khanum project and the importance of giving hope to families struggling with cancer in Pakistan. Waqar Rizvi returned and a moving video on Shaukat Khanum was shown and the keynote speaker for the evening Dr Faisal Sultan was introduced.
Dr Sultan shared a great deal of information during his very professional twenty-plus-minute presentation. He said that support for this cause means a lot and thanked everyone for their participation at the event. He shared that Pakistan has over 180,000 new cancer cases every year and close to 90,000 deaths resulting from the disease annually. There are already two operational Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospitals treating patients. He added that since Pakistani society is divided along economic lines, struggling people there need another hospital where around 75% of the patients can get treated free. Also, around 11% of the patients treated at Shaukat Khanum (SK) are children who have a much higher cure rate than adults.
The keynote speaker also spoke of SK providing 6.4 million diagnostic tests. He informed that our donations tangibly go to patient care. On the inner workings of SK, he pointed out their success in specialist retention and the increased involvement of women in operations. All this requires a monetary resource which is why we are here, he explained. Dr Sultan also shared some 2025 highlights of activities at SK. The under-construction Karachi hospital is targeted to be a 1.2 million square foot facility which will treat over 10,000 cancer patients per year from the city and all over Sindh. It is scheduled to open on December 29, 2026, and the doctor explained the significance of that date to Imran Khan.
Two special videos were shown following Dr Sultan’s address. The first highlighted the difference in cancer treatment that SK has made during the past three decades in Pakistan. The second video was a more direct (recorded) appeal from Imran Khan himself asking for continued support for this noble cause. And that set the tone for the fundraising and the entry of Wahaj Ali and Maya Ali, who had been seated patiently for quite some time.
This is where the fundraiser took a different turn, one in which Wahaj and Maya (especially) became active participants. They did a wonderful job going to each table and being able to relate to people of all ages from toddlers to senior citizens. They also interacted wholeheartedly with some Indian physicians’ present (we thank them for their attendance) who relayed their dedicated viewership of Pakistani TV dramas and one (in particular) to being a huge fan of Khan Sahib!
It may have been the smallest gathering of the three Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital fundraisers in the region, but it is quite possible it aggregated the highest per capita for donations. One table alone donated $30,000. And once again an excellent job done by our stars Wahaj and Maya for their close attention to everyone and for staying till the very end till each person got a picture taken with them.
Now back to the first paragraph and the significance of dates. It was during the first Imran Khan Cancer Appeal/ Shaukat Khanum fundraising event held on September 29, 1991 (thanks to Ahmed Hashmi Sahib) in San Francisco that many in the community, including this writer, saw their first (print) copy of the Pakistan Link newspaper. And here we are, still going strong 34 years later, spiritedly engaged in our mission to serve the community in the entrancing land of the free and the home of the brave. Before we bow out, let it be said that Imran Khan deserves credit for the original inspiration for some of us to continue our work in Pakistani American journalism. One now wishes that he had not chosen to enter politics.
(Picture credit Ras Siddiqui and Azmi Gill)
