ABOUT
Our Mission
To build bridges between Sindhi people and the international community through public diplomacy, scholarship, research, defending human rights, media, education, person-to-person contact, culture, art, literary and education events, exchange programs, conferences, Sufi melas (festivals), media arts, studies, fellowships, participation and partnerships among government and civil society sectors.
To strengthen and promote inter-racial, inter-religious, inter-faith, and inter-cultural harmony among Sindhis and the rest of the global community.
To bring a social change and promote openness and freedom of thought and expression among Sindhi people and Sindhi society, especially through empowerment of women, religious and sexual minorities, marginalized communities, and persecuted scholars, academics, civil society to retrieve original Sufi Sindhi discourse.
Leadership
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DR. MAQBOOL A. HALEPOTA
CHAIRMAN
Dr. Maqbool A. Halepota is the Chairman of the Board of Sindhi Foundation. He was born in the City of Hyderabad. Built on the banks of the River Indus, it is the most historical city and old capital of Sindh, which is now a province of Pakistan. He graduated from Sindh Medical College, Karachi, Sindh in 1986, and moved to the United States in 1992. Here he completed Residency training in Internal Medicine in 1996 from the University of Kentucky, and was certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1997.
He then practiced Internal Medicine from 1996 to 2000 in Kentucky were he was commissioned into the "Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels" by Paul Patton, Governor of Kentucky in 1999 for providing medical care to the indigent population in one of the poorest counties in Kentucky.
He later completed Fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at the University of Kentucky in 2003, was certified in Oncology in 2004, and was granted Fellowship in the American College of Physicians (ACP) in 2006. Dr. Halepota is published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the Journal of Clinical Advances in Hematology Oncology, and the South Asia Tribune.
He is a member of the Community Oncology Alliance, he is a Medical Oncology Specialty Representative.
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MUNAWAR 'SUFI' LAGHARI
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Sufi Laghari is the Executive Director of Sindhi Foundation. A Sufi by heart and human rights activist by lifelong cause, Sufi Laghari is a familiar voice and face in Washington, making American public and policy makers aware of Sindh, Sindhi culture, its people, and their human rights. He is also the main representative of The Anand Ashram Foundation in DPI –United Nations. Mr. Laghari has testified before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on the International Day in Support of Torture Victims (1999) and the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006 and 2007 Geneva, Switzerland. He has also testified before the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs and the House Committee on Appropriations (2000) Washington, DC, as well as to the World Summit in Durban, South Africa (2001). He testified at Washington National press Club by Amnesty International (2001). Laghari is also a founding member of The Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC).
Mr. Laghari has been interviewed by the Washington Times, Voice of America, BBC, SABC, Times of India and ANI. He serves as a Sindh expert to policy makers, advisory committees and think tanks around the Washington DC. He is the former Executive Director of Sindhi American Political Action Committee (SAPAC) in Washington, DC. He is also the former Executive Director of the World Sindhi Institute (WSI) and International Representative of SINDH WATCH, a quarterly magazine published by WSI. Laghari holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Mehran University Sindh. He has spent most of his life advocating for human rights and humanitarian causes.
In the process of his struggle, he sacrificed his academic career, family relations, and ties to his land. As retribution for his advocacy work in Sindh in the 1980s and 1990s, Pakistani forces held Laghari captive and tortured him. Due to threats of continuous persecution, Sufi sought asylum in the United States, where he has lived since 1994. He is the author of two books on his exile and human rights work in his native language Sindhi. Sufi has been best known as a disciple of Bhitai’s poetry, and his next book is on on Bhittai’s poetry. Sufi lives in Washington DC.
MIR MUZAFAR TALPUR
DIRECTOR
Mir Muzafar Talpur is a Director of Sindhi Foundation. He builds relationships and partnerships between and among organizations in an effort to bring them together to work together on common issues.
Mr. Talpur was born in Sindh, Pakistan, and holds a Bachelors Degree in civil engineering, a BA in fine arts, and a Masters Degree in Philosophy. He taught philosophy at Sindh University, worked on Pakistani human rights issues, monitored elections as human rights watch, volunteer mental patients in Hyderabad mental hospital, calligrapher, artist, musician, astrologer.
He speaks Siraki, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Sindhi and English. Mr. Talpur resides in Canada with his wife and daughter.
ZULFIQAR KHOWAJA
DIRECTOR
Zulfiqar Khowaja is a Director of Sindhi Foundation. He reaches out to the community and organizes rallies and advocacy on behalf of Sindhi Foundation. Mr. Khowaja is a Professional Engineer in Alberta, Canada and is active in working on issues relating to human rights and civil rights of oppressed nations generally, and Sindhi rights particularly. Mr. Khowaja received his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology in Sindh, and his graduate degree in water resources from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. After several years of designing water and wastewater infrastructure, presently he is Project Manager of Capital Infrastructure at Water Resources-City of Calgary. Mr. Khowaja had many meetings with members of Parliament to raise their voices in Parliament of Canada against enforced disappearances in Sindh and forced marriages of Sindhi Hindu girls in Sindh.
RAZIA SULTANA JUNEJO
DIRECTOR
Razia Sultana Junejo was born in Hyderabad, Sindh, and spent her childhood in the small town of Badin. She moved to the UK in 1998 and pursued her degree in Social Welfare and Mental Health from Salford University. Since then she has been working as a Specialist Mental Health Worker which includes roles as supporting individuals with mental health difficulties to get through their daily life routines.
Razia Sultana has always felt that her heart is in Sindh and her politics should surround the issues that Sindhi is facing. From her online presence and gaining knowledge from advocates in Sindh, she understands the level of oppression, social injustice and lack of basic human rights her people have. As Razia Sultana recognises these issues, she advocates for women and childrens rights to an education and freedom of movement. Razia Sultana strongly believes women have the right to chose what happens to their autonomy. She also advocates for missing persons (mainly due to their liberal political beliefs they are abducted by the autocratic military), discrimination and forced conversions of Sindhi Hindu women and issues surronding the sentiment of ’’Karo Kari.’’
With 61,000 followers on Facebook, she uses her platform to tackle social injustices in Sindh and Baluchistan. It is a difficult task but she recognises the voice she has been given to begin discussions as it allows other advocates to understand what the public mood is.
M SAJJAN CHANNA
UK DIRECTOR
Saj is a British Sindhi, born in Kunbhar (potter) of New Jatoi Sindh. He is a former chairman of Sindhi Sangat Australia and composer of Constitution for Sindhi Sangat Australia. He was a gold medalist and has been a registered nurse and specialist in Cardiac and Critical Care Nursing for the last 20 years. Saj is registered with Australian Health practitioner regulatory agency (AHPRA Australia) and Nursing and midwifery council in the United Kingdom (UK).
Saj has been actively participating against human rights violations in Sindh, the UK and Australia. Saj has arranged and participated in many missing persons demonstrations in Australia and the UK.
Saj’s family has directly suffered from force abduction in Sindh( political) as Saj’s elder brother was missing person for 3 years during the late 80’s abducted by ISI.
Saj is Director of pixel care limited UK and Pixel cars limited UK. Saj fluently speaks Sindhi, English, Siraikey and Urdu. Saj currently resides in the UK and also is a resident of Australia.