Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, was one of many prominent British Muslims attending the British Asian Trust’s annual Iftar at the London Grosvenor Marriot Hotel. 

Other notable guests included government minister Lord Tariq Ahmad, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, High Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK H.E. Dr Mohammad Faisal and British Asian Trust Ambassadors including music producer Naughty Boy and Pakistani actor Sanam Saeed.

The British Asian Trust Iftar attracted a diverse gathering of 350 guests from the South Asian Muslim diaspora, including celebrities, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals, and the Trust’s Ambassadors. Guests generously donated over £250,000 at the Iftar (breaking of the fast). 

The event highlighted the often unspoken and invisible struggle of mental health issues and raised funds for the Trust’s vital Mental Health programmes in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The British Asian Trust was founded in 2007 by His Majesty King Charles III (when he was His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales) and a group of British Asian entrepreneurs, to tackle poverty, inequality and injustice in South Asia.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Ramadan is a time for charity and giving and this year the British Asian Trust has put together another wonderful Iftar event to support those in need with mental health services. The Trust’s work has been life-changing for people and I am proud to support them again this Ramadan.”

Sanam Saeed said: “Pakistan has a growing mental health crisis with 50 million people estimated to experience mental health issues but unable to access support due to stigma, and lack of awareness and services. 

We need to encourage conversations to shine light on mental health issues, so people can stop suffering silently and seek the help they need.”

British Asian Trust Chief Executive Richard Hawkes adds: “The British Asian Trust has been working to improve the lives of people with mental health issues for over a decade.

Our work aims to fundamentally change the mental health landscape by destigmatising and raising awareness of mental health, promoting accessible and affordable services for all and building coalitions of support to drive change. I’m so pleased that over 300 of our friends and supporters joined us tonight to rally behind this.”

The evening was hosted by BBC broadcaster and British Asian Trust Ambassador Asad Ahmad.  Other notable guests at the event included Baroness Shaista Gohir OBE, Rushanara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, Shadow Minister (Investment and Small Business) and Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham, Ladywood.