Brunch with the President: Reunion of de’Montmorency graduates, class 1966

March 10th, 2019, was a day of excitement, significance, and immense pride for the dental graduates of class 1966 of de’Montmorency College of Dentistry, Lahore. This day, the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Dr Arif-r-Reham Alvi, who also belongs to the same batch of the dental college, invited all his former classmates over brunch at the President House in Islamabad.

The meeting was scheduled from 11am to 1pm. President Arif Alvi and his wife, Samina Alvi welcomed all the arriving guests with an open and warm heart. It was an afternoon full of reminiscence, nostalgia and celebration of the prized memories of these graduates from their time in dental college.

Dr Munir Ahmed who flew all the way from Canada for the reunion, played a primary role in arranging it. He created a WhatsApp group and put in relentless effort to reach out to all his UG batch-mates, 48 years after graduation, and invited them to the reunion.



 

 

Attendees of the reunion brunch included Dr Abid Bhaijan and  Dr Tahira Abid (USA); Dr Munir Ahmad and Mrs. Zohra Munir (Canada); Dr Javaid Ashraf and Mrs. Shezana Javaid; Capt Dr Abdul Rasheed Chaudhry; Brig (R) Dr Raza Ahmed Khan; Dr Asif Ali and Mrs Musarrat Ara; Dr Farrukh Mumtaz Rana; Col Dr M. Alamgir Dar (TIM) and Mrs.Asmat Yasmeen; Dr Zahoor Ahmad and Mrs Azra Yasmin; Dr Muhammad Umar Hayat and Mrs. Farzana Khanam; Col. Dr Naseer Ahmad; Col Dr Abdus Sattar Chaudhry and Mrs Bushra Sattar; Dr Shabab Rizvi; Dr Maqbool Ahmed; Dr Mirza Sikandar Hayat and DrGhulam Ali.

At the brunch, speaking on behalf of the group, MC Dr Munir Ahmed said, “We are very proud of Dr Arif Alvi who is the President of our beloved country.” He also went on to tell everyone that Dr Arif Alvi “was the most genius student of our class.”

Where the reuniting friends indulged in fun interaction and chatted about the four years spent together in college and other events spanning over past 52 years, there was also conversation on the current status of Dentistry in Pakistan.

Dr Munir Ahmed said, “It is my wish that Pakistan has a separate Dental Council similar to the regulatory bodies in Canada, UK and USA; an adequate dental health policy must also be implemented. I have researched on it and I offer my services to Pakistan in this regard, and my services are dedicated to Dr Arif Alvi who may be able to bring these changes."

The guests also discussed the potential for enhancing and improving the dental education and practice in Pakistan.

Dr Munir said, “Since dentists like me, Dr Abid and Dr Tahira have spent years practicing in countries like Canada and USA, we have offered the president the amalgamation of our specialties, experiences and skills in redesigning the current dental curriculum of Pakistan.”

Dr Arif Alvi welcomed all suggestions, and offered his own insight as well.

After an afternoon of exchanging professional ideas, and narrating stories from the time in de’Montmorency, the hosts led the guests toward brunch arrangement.