While this website focuses on professional issues, Greg’s life in Karachi was such a watershed that it deserves a brief section. While he had traveled extensive in his work including over 30 trips to Pakistan over the years, the move to Karachi was a life changing event. He started visiting Pakistan in 1986 when joined the US government, Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics. One of his first assignments was to travel to Pakistan to explore the possibility of conducting a health examination survey similar to the NHANES. The result of that effort is well documented in the many articles and the report on the National Health Survey of Pakistan. A narrative of how the survey was conducted was written by Dr. M. Ayub Khan. After years of associate and friends ships in Pakistan he was offered a position by the Aga Khan University in Karachi.
Greg became the Chairman of the Department of Community Health Science (CHS) at the Aga Khan in July 2006. His professional work at AKU is well documents on the webite of CHS.
With the help of Mr. Sultanali, of AKU, Greg found a house on 34th Street in Defense Phase II about one kilometer for the beach. He employed his long time driver from his days at the PMRC, Jamshed Iqbal. Jamshed brought his wife Parveen, and together they maintained a wonderful household, active with professional and social engagements. Jamshed and Parveen became the house experts on throwing the many wonderful parties. Greg and Jamshed, along with a crew of gardeners. planted a wonderful garden that included a lemon tree, coconut palms, a grape arbor, papaya trees, many herbs, and huge bushes of basil.
Greg developed some deep and enduring friendships in Pakistan. Those friendships include one with Ali Saleem who is the famous Pakistani actor and creator of the TV sensation, Begum Navazish Ali. Begum became a household name in Pakistan and internationally acclaimed. Greg was interviewed by Begum for 90 minutes on that program which can be seen on uTube. (link) Other friends included Anthony L’huiller advertizing executive, Shargell xxx editor of Vogue Pakistan, and Auj Khan the noted painter, Soon after Greg left Karachi, one of his first and dearest Karachi friends was shockingly murdered, Shaikh Ameer Hussain, the designer and socialite, of a grand Lahore family.
Greg lived in Karachi in turbulent times including the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Gangsters terrorized the city for four days after the assassination and victimized members of her party. Karachi pulling into its shell, like a turtle. Our gates at 24th Street were locked those four days. Bank robbery and mass looting left a terrible scar on the city. The experiences in Karachi have lead to a lasting effort to create a better understanding of life and health in megacities. Despite the dramatic circumstances of the city and country, life in Karachi was serene and Greg never felt personally threatened, even driving or walking in what many would consider bad neighborhoods. Karachites were loving and generous, not the demonized creature portrayed in international media.