Pakistan International Christian Medical Association

Dr James Shera has vast experience as an executive and community worker with extensive policy, practical and programme management knowledge in a range of disciplines, in particular the National Health Service, local government, corporate planning and strategic development, fund raising for charitable organisations and running large boards.

He was the Chair and Founder of Rugby (Myton) Hospice Project Board, which raised £1m and established desperately needed Daycare Hospice in the Rugby area. He was also the Chair of the Walsgrave Hospital Cancer Ward Appeal, 1989–1990, and assisted in raising £1.75 million.

As the Chair of the Fundraising Pakistan Earthquake Appeal, he helped to raise over £20,000 and sent two ambulances converted into mobile hospitals to Pakistan. Pakistan Flood Appeal. In September 2010, during floods in Pakistan, he raised £10,000 and established three water filtration plants for the flood affected area of Pakistan.

A Board Member & National Trustee, Barnardo’s Children’s Charity, 1997 – 2006, he helped Barnardos to extend their work to meet the needs of our multi-faith society, at board and service level. As the Chair, Audit Committee. Barnardo’s Children’s Charity, 1999 – 2006, he was responsible for overseeing an annual budget of over £420 million.

He served on the Board of Governors, Coventry University, 2005 to 2011 and on the Board of Governors, Warwickshire College, 2004 to 2010. Additionally, he was on the Board of Governors and Trustee, Newman University College, Birmingham, 2011– 2013 and supported it to acquire full university status.

As a member of Policy Advisory Committee, the Law Society, England and Wales he helped to establish the Equal Opportunity policy for solicitors. 1990-1996. He was a member of Parole Board for England & Wales, 1996-1998, and a General Income Tax Commissioner for Rugby and Southam, Warwickshire, 1995 – 2009.

He retired as the Director, Intercultural Curriculum Support Service (ICSS) Warwickshire County Council, Education Department. Managing an annual budget of £2m. He provided strategic leadership to the key programme of Warwickshire County Council, providing well- targeted, high-quality and much valued intercultural support to all 450 schools and colleges to enable them to raise the achievement of Black, Minority and Ethnic (BME) pupils, Gypsy Roma Travellers, new arrivals from EU countries and the world at large.

Dr. Peter J. David studied at Gordon College Rawalpindi and then went to Nishtar Medical College Multan, Pakistan and got MBBS in 1964. He then obtained Diploma in Mental Health in 2004 from Birbeck College, University of London in 2004. He is a Former Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and Institute of Directors.

Dr. David is Hon Senior Lecturer in Medicine at Kings College London since 2018 and Former Visiting Professor at University of Peshawar, Pakistan. He is a family Medical Practitioner at Kenton Clinic, 533-A, Kenton Road, Harrow London. Dr Peter David was a Member of Governing Council of East Surrey College, Redhill, Surrey from 2001 to 2008 and Former Chair of Board of Governors, Forman Christian College University, Lahore Pakistan 2016 to 2019. He is recipient of many awards including an award from the President of Pakistan for his services to Minorities and to Education in Pakistan in 2017. The Pakistan High Commission in London in recognition of his Services to Pakistani Community on 23rd March 2007 honoured him by giving him a special award.

He is founder of Whitepost Healthcare Group that provides healthcare services in Kent and Surrey Counties of England. Dr Peter David is a sole Trustee of Church of Scotland’s multimillion pounds estate in Pakistan since January 2007 and a Trustee of VOD International (Voice of Dalits). Dr Peter David is the Chief Executive of Gateway Television Ltd. that highlights issues of persecuted minorities on his weekly TV programme “Gateway Gazette” from Sky TV.

As the Admin Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Pakistani Minorities, his main tasks include: drafting briefings for meetings of the APPG officials with the UK Ministers and other officers, sending briefings to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, drafting letters to send to the UK and Pakistani Governments Ministers and officials, drafting Parliamentary Questions and Early Day Motions, organizing the APPG meetings and special celebrations, and dealing with the correspondence.

Morris Johns was the co-author of the APPG’s Visit to Pakistan report, “Religious Minorities of Pakistan”. He also contributed to the University of Birmingham Research Report, “Forced Conversions and Forced Marriages in Sindh, Pakistan”, as well as the APPG for Freedom of Religion or Belief Parliamentary Inquiry Report, “Freedom of Religion or Belief in Pakistan and UK”.

He is a Councillor of the Brickhill Parish Council in Bedfordshire and has been actively dealing with the local voters’ issues. Previously He was the School Governor of St John Rigby Primary School, Bedford and a volunteer Independent Custody Visitor.

Councillor Johns has recently been elected the Trustee Board Chair of the Bedfordshire Refugees and Asylum Seekers Support (BRASS). He is also a Trustee Board member of the Action by Christians Against Torture.

He has been running a small charity for the past 12 years, providing school books and supporting the Christian school children in Pakistan.

• Deputy Director of Research & Development ASPH NHS FT
• Hon Senior Lecturer Royal Holloway University of London
• Trustee Tutu Foundation, UK
• Former Board Member, Christian Hospital, Sahiwal, Pakistan
• Founder & CEO Metanoic Health Limited

Dr John is Deputy Director of Research and Development at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (www.ashfordstpeters.nhs.uk) and Hon Senior Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London. Dr John is Senior Healthcare Services Manager with experience of Commissioning in the Department of Health. Dr John has very strong academic background and many years of teaching and research experience in molecular genetics at universities in the UK and USA. He has 15 publications in peer-reviewed journals, 2 book chapters and 3 patents with the University of Nottingham. Dr John is a Founder and CEO of Metanoic Health Limited (www.metanoichealth.com) which provides clinical trial services to Pharmaceutical and Device Industry and a web-based Good Clinical Practice (GCP) course for clinical trial investigators. Dr John was seconded as a General Manager to General Surgery in 2006 and to Children’s Services in 2008 at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Research & Development Team at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals has 35 staff and under Dr John’s leadership recruited more than 2000 patients into 90 different clinical trials from April 2019 to March 2020.

Dr John worked for one year in the Department of Health, UK. He was part of the team which launched Genetics Knowledge Parks, Genetics Reference Labs and the UK Bio-bank Project. He has skills and experience of turning policies into action plans which benefit the general public.

Dr John has keen interest in charity work. He is a Trustee of the Tutu Foundation UK (www.tutufoundationuk.org) and a Former Board Member of Christian Hospital Sahiwal, Pakistan.

Michael Massey is a resident of London for more than two decades. He has huge and diversified experience of accounting working in public and private sector including Pakistan High Commission in London. Mr Massey is actively involved local and national politics since 2011. He is a finance secretary of Labour Party Croydon for the last seven years. He played a vital role in launching All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in the UK Parliament. He actively supports different organisations working for humanitarian crises and persecuted people across the globe.

Qamar Rafiq is currently serving in the Business Intelligence Unit (BIU) of the National Health Services (NHS) England. Prior to this he has worked tirelessly with the Church of Scotland (COS) Trust and World Mission Council’s Attorney to advance and protect the interests of the COS in Pakistan. Qamar has MBA in International Marketing and Brand Management from Capital University, Islamabad. Later he enrolled at the NHS Leadership Academy to study leadership in Healthcare. He has also studied, Leadership in 21st Century Organisation from Copenhagen Business School, and specialised in Health Informatics from Johns Hopkins University.

Qamar works with Network of International bodies, media, charities, and state functionaries for the purpose of promoting religious freedom and human rights. Qamar has made several media appearances including the BBC, ITV, Daily Mail, DW, Independent Catholic and the Bath Chronicle. He is a frequent contributor on the topics of freedom of religion and belief, persecution of minority groups, leaders in public life and emotional intelligence.

Mary Taj MBBS, DCH, MRCPCH, FRCPCH,

Fellowship in Haem/Onc Mich USA

Consultant Paediatric Oncologist,

Royal Marsden Hospital,

London. UK

After graduating from King Edward Medical College, Dr Mary Taj went to UK and got her diploma and membership in paediatrics. Following that she was appointed Assistant Professor in Paediatrics at King Edward medical College / Mayo Hospital, Lahore Pakistan. Given her interest in paediatric oncology she was asked to set up the first paediatric oncology department at Mayo. After 5 years, she went to Ann Arbor, Michigan USA to do a fellowship in Paediatric Oncology Haematology.

Mary Taj has been a consultant paediatric oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London UK since 2001. Her special interests include lymphoma, leukaemia and the late effects of cancer treatment. She is the lead for lymphoma and late effects at her institution. She is also chair of the UK NCRI paediatric NHL group and member of the European NHL group (EICNHL). Her research interests include post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease.

Dr. Taj has also a major interest in work in developing countries. She is the current chair of the CCLG Paediatric oncology in developing countries group and has worked collaboratively with the Children Hospital Lahore for many years and is a member of Pakistan Society of Paediatric Oncology (PSPO). She is an honorary professor at the institute of child health and children’s hospital Lahore. She was also a member of the Sanofi Aventis, ‘My child matters’ (MCM) expert committee and a mentor for MCM projects in Lahore for 3 years. As a member of the faculty for the Aslan fellowship programme Dr Taj visited Jimma and Addis Ababa Ethiopia in Nov 2017 .and Jan 2020.

Dr Asher Nazir Alam comes from Lahore, Pakistan. He studied medicine at King Edward Medical College in Pakistan. He was trained at Mayo Hospital in Lahore. He has been working for the NHS in UK since 1984. Dr Alam has worked in Mansoura Egypt, Strasbourg and Bordeaux in France.

who is working as a paediatrician in Wakefield has experience of working in the UK and Pakistan. In Pakistan he has worked in government and Christian Hospitals giving him insight into challenges facing doctors in Pakistan.

Dr Sylvester, graduated from King Edward Medical College, Lahore. He did his internship in Lahore, in surgery from the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore and in General Medicine at United Christian Hospital. He has also worked in Bethania Hospital, a Catholic hospital, in Sialkot, Pakistan.

He moved to the UK in 1988 and worked in different NHS hospitals in the UK . He had further experience of working in Pakistan from 1996 to 1998. On returning to the UK he has been working as a paediatrician. He took retirement in 2020, but continues to work part time as a Paediatrician in Wakefield, UK.

He lives with his wife who is a gynaecologist, in Leeds, UK and has three grown up children. The whole family have been involved in fundraising for Christian projects in Pakistan.

Graduate of King Edward Medical College. Post graduate training both in Pakistan and UK. Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists London UK and Fellow of the College of Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan, She worked in Public Sector Medical Colleges and attached hospitals in Pakistan for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students and nurses After retirement from public sector worked in private sector too.

Involvement in community services is from early life. Later joined Caritas Pakistan Social wing of the Catholic Church) as a Board Member and worked actively in the rescue and recovery services in natural and man made disasters as well as in the development projects of Caritas .At workplace was an active member of Patients Welfare Society and helped to formulate patient friendly policies and implement programs. As member of Minorities Advisory Committee helped in the advocacy of rights for the religious minorities.

Currently serving as a member of the Board of Governors FCCU ( Forman Christian College University) and as a member of Syndicate of University of Health Sciences.

Husband Anthony Richards is Chief of Information technology at FCCU and has steered the development of technology at FCCU to be at par with other American Universities.

As members of Rotary International both are involved in several projects for the development of communities. One pet project is Gift of Life.in which children with congenital heart defects undergo corrective surgery absolutely free of charge.

Mother of two daughters. Zoe is a barrister and working for US State Department at US embassy. Sophie is a researcher working for Mindstorm a gaming company and was the Principal Investigator in the first ever research to assess the present and future impacts of gaming industry in Pakistan.