First Pakistan-led team set to scale K2

Sana Jamal

Islamabad – Pakistan’s first ever mountaineering expedition is all geared up to reach the summit of K2. The team of 8 Pakistani climbers, led by Muhammad Taqi, also include two Italian mountaineering ambassadors, Michele Cucchi (alpine guide), and Simone Origone (ski expert), and would leave from Skardu on June 14, according to a press brief at National Press Club on Monday.

Pakistan’s first mountaineering, scientific and environmental research expedition to K2 will mark the 60 years anniversary of first ascent of second highest mountain in the word by Italian expedition in 1954. Pakistan and Italian climbers joined the ceremony to share their mutual passion to discover and climb the magnificent mountains.It was the determination and enthusi asm of Pakistanis that compelled Italian experts to arrange the expedition. “I met the climbers last summer on the Baltoro Glacier, where they shared their dream to climb K2 (8611m) and asked for help to which I gladly responded” told Agostino Da Polenza, President of EvK2Cnr.

First day of life most risky for Newborns: new Report

Pakistan ranked 139th on the list of best places to be a mother

Pakistan among 10 countries with high newborn death rate

Sana Jamal

The day a newborn open eyes to world is the most anticipated one for the mother and a blissful moment for the whole family. But the first day of life is a delicate time for a newborn as it is often the most risky day of a child’s life, according to a report released this week by the humanitarian group, Save the Children. The 2013 State of the World's Mothers Report (SOWM) titled ‘Surviving the First Day’ reflects how risky the very first day is for many babies and mothers in almost every part of the world. 

Global state of Mothers 

More than one million babies are dying the actual day that they are born - making the baby’s day of birth the most dangerous day of their life nearly every country. The annual Report by the humanitarian organization reveals that two decades of progress on mother and child health has been too slow and uneven over the years. Released around Mother's Day, the report assesses the well-being of mothers and children in 176 countries. Finland, Sweden and Norway top the Mother's Index list (global ranking system for maternal and infant health) while Congo, Somalia and Sierra Leone rank last. This year’s Report contains first ever Birth Day Risk Index with the death rate for babies in their first day of life in 186 countries.

Role of Investigative Journalism discussed

Published in Pakistan Observer (7 July, 2011)

Sana Jamal

Islamabad - A proper investigative report can help increase awareness among the masses about the ills of the society, and at the same time it can portray the correct image of the nation to the outside world. To promote the culture of investigative journalism in Pakistan, a group discussion was held in Islamabad by Individual-land Pakistan, a nonprofit organization.

“Best way to defend Pakistan is to be honest”

SDPI seminar on ‘War on Terror: Post-Osama regime’

Published in Pakistan Observr on 17, 2011

Sana Jamal

ISLAMABAD: In the current post-Osama scenario, the “best way to defend Pakistan is to be honest” and accountable to the people of Pakistan, said Lt-Gen (R) Talat Masood at a seminar on “War on Terror: Post-Osama regime” organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on Monday.

The speakers urged that the policy-makers of the country should adopt honest approach and accept mistakes in order to win back the credibility at home and abroad after the Osama incident.

The key speakers at the seminar included Lt-Gen (R) Talat Masood, Defence and security analyst; Dr Rifaat Hussain, Chairman of Defence and Strategic Studies department at the Quaid-i-Azam University; Tariq Fatemi, former ambassador and Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI.

The participants said that that since Pak-US relations are at cross-roads after the Osama incident, it is high time that Pakistan should review and redefine its policies in the interest of the nation. “Pakistan’s parliament should implement its concerned resolution and there should be an independent commission to fix responsibility for the May 2 event” they added.

Talat Masood termed the ‘May 2 incident’ as a golden opportunity for the country to recover from the ongoing crisis by accepting mistakes and being honest to the nation. “We should end this state of self-denial and challenge the conspiracy theories with truth” he advocated.

Dr Rifaat termed the incident a “unique strategic failure” and said that the time has come to decide whether US is a friend of Pakistan or foe. He predicted a difficult future for Pakistan as “US possibly will pressurize the country to unblock negotiations on fissile material technology”, and would “accept greater Indian role in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s diminished role in end goals in Afghanistan.”

Report on Plight of Pakistani Children launched

Published in Pakistan Observer (29 Apr. 2011)

Sana Jamal

ISLAMABAD: Year 2010 has been a tumultuous year for children in Pakistan, claimed a report ‘The State of Pakistan’s Children 2010’. The comprehensive report highlighting issues of children was launched by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) here on Thursday.

The annual report portrays a gloomy picture of the state of children claiming that “out of the six million children affected due to floods, nearly 3.5 million remain at risk.” It also stated that 92 children died while 118 children were seriously injured due to militancy in 2010. Around 210 children were affected mainly due to bomb blasts. The report also claimed that 187 children committed suicide and 80 attempted suicide last year. “Challenges of conflicts, terrorism, and violence, abysmal state of health and education sector, and lack of legislative initiatives” added to the misery of the Pakistani children.

The speakers at the report launch included Bushra Gohar, MNA; Terje Barstad, Deputy Head of Mission from the Royal Norwegian Embassy; Samar Minallah, Dir. of Ethnomedia; Arshad Mahmood, Ex. Dir. of SPARC, and Qatrina Hosain, a senior journalist.

Ms. Bushra Gohar said that the report highlights the need for reforms in FATA which is a critical issue. She also invited suggestions from civil society for the formulation of legislation on child right and protection.

“Lack of political will, poor budgetary allocation, rampant corruption and health not being government’s priority” were proclaimed as reasons of Pakistan’s failure to achieve EFA and MDG goals in the education and health sector.

Mr. Terje Barstad expressed that Pakistan has a long way to go in the implementation of the Recommendations made by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

“The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) took a positive step towards addressing violence against children by propagating the KPK Child Protection and Welfare Act 2010 in September” informed Ms. Amina Sarwar, research officer of SPARC.

Samar Minallah spoke on culturally sanctioned violence against children and highlighted the different forms of forced child marriages such as Vanni, Swara, Sung Chatti and Irjaai though a documentary which explained how girls have paid the price.

“While the trend of child labour is decreasing globally but unfortunately in Pakistan there has been an increase in child labour” said the report.

The report however stressed on case studies rather than providing substantive and authentic data and figures on subjects of violence against children and child labour. The yearly report quoted an NGO, ‘Sahil’ as claiming that 1216 cases of sexual abuses reported across the country in 2010. In 2010, about 1225 juvenile prisoners comprising 1074 under trial and 151 convicted were reported detained in different cities.

Arshad Mahmood regretted that no concrete steps were being taken at official level to address the critical state of child rights in Pakistan. He urged for a national commission and proper budgetary allocation for the protection of children.

Qatrina Hosain, a senior journalist condemned all forms of child labour stating that children are exploited with all kinds of sanctimonious reasons. She urged the public to “Break the silence” against child domestic labour.

Directory on NGOs launched

Published in Pakistan Observer (11 Feb. 2011)

Sana Jamal

ISLAMABAD: Most of the Pakistani NGOs run social and welfare works through self-generated income while rest of the support comes from national and international donor agencies. This information was revealed at the launch of the directory of certified nonprofit organizations working in Pakistan compiled by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP) here on Thursday.

Speaking at the launching ceremony the book, Anjum R. Haque, Executive Director of PCP informed that 181 NGOs were examined during the survey which revealed that “around 43% of the NGOs work through self-generated income while 34% from national donors and around 23% from international donors.”

Malik Babur, Manager Certification of PCP informed that “Out of 181 NGOs, 57 are working on health issues, 52 are working in educational area while 11 NGOs are focused on advocacy.”

The directory titled ‘Gateway to Giving’ is a reflection of PCP’s unique Certification Programme which is the first of its kind to be implemented in South Asia. The certification programme provides a system of voluntary evaluation of Certified Social Organizations on standardized parameters by an external agency aimed at promoting international best practices of good governance, financial transparency, documentation, disclosure and accountability. “It also seeks to bridge the information and credibility gap that exists between grant givers and grant seekers that often is an impediment in the promotion of social development” said Ms. Haque.

Speakers discuss the legality of drone attacks

Published in Pakistan Observer (15 Dec. 2010)

Sana Jamal

ISLAMABAD: “Without determining the nature of conflict in Pakistan in light of international law, legal status of CIA-operated drone strikes can not to be established” said Dr. Robert. He was speaking at a session assessing the legality of pilot-less drone attacks in the backdrop of international humanitarian law and human rights law. The informative session was organized by Pak Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), an independent research think-tank in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Speakers came up with a mixed reaction on the legality of drone attacks as the session ended in a limbo.

“The legal status of CIA-operated drone attacks is in limbo under the international laws as the state has failed to effectively control militant groups operating within the state”, said Dr. Robert P. Barnidge, Jr. an expert on International law and terrorism and lecturer at UK. “Even if the Pakistani government has tacitly approved U.S drone strikes in Pakistan, each attack needs to be assessed on the principles of distinction and proportionality” he said.

Dr. Niaz A. Shah who is a Lecturer in Law at law School of UK said the U.S relies on the article 51 of UN charter to justify the use of drones inside Pakistan. “However, this particular article can only be implemented if one state has attacked another state or a state maintains an effective control over the non-state actors, which intend or have attacked the other state.”

4-day International Youth Conference in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s first International Youth Conference & Festival (IYCF) kicked off Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in Islamabad on Monday which seeks to bring together 300 Pakistani and international delegates to inspire, encourage and empower the youth.

The festival has been organised by Miradore Production and Khudi Pakistan in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry for Women Development, Ministry of Labour and Manpower, UNFPA, NCHD, Google, Youtube and global Alliance for Youth Movements (AYM) as online supporters.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira was the chief guest on the inaugural day. In his address Kaira urged the youth to play their active role in combating and defeating terrorism in the country. Minister called the youth of the country ‘the ambassadors of peace.’ While highlighting the role of youth he said “The government and the security forces cannot eliminate the menace unless the young generation, particularly the students, come forward and play their role.”

The day started off with a seminar titled ‘Bridging Cultural Divides’, followed by a roundtable discussion including Ali Abbas Zaidi (Pakistan Youth Alliance), Sana Saleem, Osama Kazi, Zafarullah Khan and Karamat Ali who highlighted the issues youth of Pakistan are facing and provided solutions to challenge the stereotype thinking that often develop in the absence of direct communication channels.

Tolerance & Inter-faith harmony can end Violence

Edited version published in Pakistan Observer on 3 Dec. 2010
Sana Jamal


ISLAMABAD: Through peace, tolerance and inter-faith harmony, we can put an end to violence and live peacefully. This consensus emerged at a seminar held at Nomad Gallery, Islamabad which was part of the 16 Days of Activism against gender violence 2010 campaign in Islamabad.
Nomad in collaboration with UNIFEM - Pakistan organized a seminar and art exhibition of 16 visual artists titled “We can end violence through Peace, Tolerance and Inter-faith harmony”.

The topic under discussion was “Understanding Peace and tolerance as reflected by Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity and Islam.” Stressing the need for peace and interfaith harmony, Nageen Hyat, Director of Nomad said “through solidarity and integration, we can be stronger and contribute to a respected and humane nation.”

“Terrorism originated from wrong understanding, wrong perception, poverty and misuse of power. Now is the time we should participate to remove misunderstanding for transforming peace and harmony” said Ms. Esther Park, a poet, writer, research scholar of Gandhara Art Foundation.

Hotline for Children’s Grievances established

Published in Pakistan Observer (25 Nov. 2010)
Sana Jamal
ISLAMABAD: “No lawyer, no fees, just call and complain” was the simple and effective message to the vulnerable children of Pakistan by Children’s Complaint Office (CCO), a unique organization working to address children’s grievances.

CCO, the first children’s ombudsman office in South Asia established by Wafaqi Mohtasib and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) receives and resolves complaints from or on behalf of children whose rights have been violated by a federal department or agency.

Media person learnt this while attending a workshop organized by CCO to engage media in highlighting the issues of vulnerable children in Pakistan and also and to explain the working mechanism of CCO to the public through media.

The Child ombudsman has received 272 complaints till now since Aug. 2009. Out of which 90% complaints have been redressed within a period ranging from 3 - 6 months.

The basic purpose of CCO is to receive, examine and investigate complaints made by or on behalf of children and young people. Besides, the organization also aims at promoting children’s rights and welfare; create awareness about the child rights issues in Pakistan and to take proper measures to solve the issues.

Children Parliamentarians of Pakistan demand due rights

Published in Pakistan Observer (25 Nov. 2010)
Sana Jamal
ISLAMABAD: The Children Parliament Pakistan has called for establishment of a separate ministry to care for children’s rights, firm action on child labour issue and to ensure equal treatment for women at grass root level.

This has been stated in a resolution adopted by the Members of the Children’ Parliament Pakistan in Islamabad Wednesday during the one-day session of the Rawalpindi Regional Assembly (RRA), Punjab.

Arslan Latif, Speaker of the Regional Assembly, Rawalpindi said “CPP is a platform which provides opportunity to the children of Pakistan to present their problems and submit suggestions for evolving policies on child rights.”

Children’ Parliament Pakistan (CPP) is an initiative of Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), supported by Strengthening Democracy through Parliamentary Development (SDPD). The idea of the parliament was conceived in 2007 and put into practice a year later.

Talking to Pakistan Observer, Marvi Sirmed, National Project Manager of SDPD (UNDP) said that parliamentary procedure should not only be kept to the parliament but it should be made part of our lives. “The basic aim of this project was to politically aware the children hence making them responsible citizens who are aware of their rights and duties.” This is an awareness campaign to bring attitudinal changes in our behaviour towards democracy, she added.

‘Chief Minister of RRA’, Hamid Ali briefing about the achievements of CPP in Chakwal said that, “We have collected information about 204 vulnerable children in Chakwal and have also sent a proposal to construct an institution for them.”

Explaining the democratic system to the elected parliamentarians, Former Speaker of Children Parliament Bakht Jamshed said “Democracy is a system which gives voice to common man”.

Three hundred Members of the CPP from 30 districts of Pakistan are serving as the representatives of the children of Pakistan in 10 Regional Assemblies. The Assemblies holds 2-3 meetings annually to discuss the pertinent issues and come up with the resolutions in order to ensure the rights of the children in Pakistan.

Security personnel sacrifice their Eid for others

Originally Published in Pakistan Observer (Nov. 20, 2010)
Sana Jamal
While the whole nation celebrated their Eid by sacrificing animals and enjoying Eid with their families, thousands of security forces and policemen had to spend their holidays on duties remaining alert against a possible terror threat.

On Eid-ul-Azha (Festival of Sacrifice), the guardians of the nation had to sacrifice their Eid for others as Eid holidays of police personnel and officials were cancelled because they were directed to remain on duty to prevent any unforeseen mishap.

Men in blue uniforms in Islamabad were present vigilant at all important intersections of the city keeping a check on almost all vehicles passing ensuring the possible safety of the citizens. These precautionary measures were part of the comprehensive security plan chalked out by the local administration and police due to fear of terrorism to avoid any unpleasant incident.

Moved by the spirit of our policemen a taxi driver Rizwan ul haq said “These are our unsung heroes who leave no stone unturned for our security.”

'Women Journalists Pakistan' formed

To provide a platform to the women journalists working in print media, electronic media and radio the female journalists have formed an association ‘Women Journalists Pakistan’ (WJP) to address their problems and provide women journalists with special incentives to retain them in journalism.

In this regard a ceremony was held at the National Press Club on Saturday wherein female journalists from different media organizations registered themselves with the association and got advice from senior journalists.

As a first step, women journalists, after a couple of consultative and interactive meetings have decided to form a group that would address the above mentioned problems of those working in this field. These meetings and debates have led to the formation of Women Journalists Pakistan which is a non-political and intellectual based forum that aims to provide a platform to the women journalists working in print media, electronic media and radio.

Dengue Fever – Symptoms and Preventions

 

Edited version published in Pakistan Observer on Oct. 26, 2010

 

While dengue has existed since decades in many parts of the world in various forms, the killer disease emerged as a major health concern in Pakistan for last few years, and especially after the heavy floods in Pakistan, the disease has been witnessed on an alarming level.

 

As a nation, we have been in the habit of shoving off even hazardous issues until they reach a height which cannot be ignored. Only then we take corrective steps and preventive measures. Same is the case with the deadly viral disease which regularly surface almost every year but the concerned authorities have failed to come up with any comprehensive preventive plan to face deal with this fatal disease.

'PARO' - Curative Robot inroduced in Islamabad

Edited story published in Pakistan Observer on 8 Oct. 2010
Sana Jamal

Islamabad - In this modern technological age when human beings have become machines and can spend little time with their aging elders or ailing children, a friendly mechanical robot named PARO has emerged to fill gap of emotional attachments and psychological therapy.

PARO – which stands for Partner Robot has been developed by Japanese scientist, Dr. Takanori Shibata and was introduced in Islamabad’s National University of Science and Technology (NUST) on Thursday.

Dr. Takanori Shibata, Senior Research Scientist, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Japan delivered a lecture titled as “Science Lecture on Robot-Life Innovation with Therapeutic Robot: Paro” and explained the work and ability of friendly-looking little Paro which can cure elderly people as well as sick children in hospitals and home.

Role of Media stressed in Education Policy

Printed in Pak. Observer on 30th Sept. 2010.

Islamabad— Media and civil professionals on Tuesday attended a rare Seminar at the ‘Media and Civil Society Collaboration Workshop’ in Islamabad. The speakers proposed an alliance between media and education activists to improve the dismal state of Education sector in Pakistan. The Workshop was organized by Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) and sponsored by Open Society Institute.

A number of local journalists and education experts representing various organizations attended the one-day workshop.

Holding on to Hope

Stories and pictures of human suffering, killing and displacement of millions of people on newspapers; scenes of mass misery, towns and people submerged in water on TV screens are constantly reminding us that the worst disaster of the century is not over yet. Media is also informing that this massive flooding in Pakistan is even worse than Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004), Kashmir earthquake (2005) and Haiti earthquake (2010).

And I also conformed to this belief of media until the same media informed that how all the preparations of 14th August have been called off because of this worst disaster.

So it’s that time of the year again which is associated with celebrations all across the country, flag hoisting at every building and house, firecrackers in all the alleys, national songs being played on TV & radio and of course those same old debates that 'what have we achieved in the last this many years!'

It is 14th August, our 63rd independence day. A grand day for every Pakistani, a day to cherish with full fervor but with half of the country submerged in water, it is hard and somewhat cruel to even imagine celebrating.

Counting miseries..

"A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is statistic."

Here are the statistics:

Cost to Agriculture:

US$1,000,000,000

(US$ 1 Billion in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa only)

Pakistanis Affected:

2,500,000

(including incidents of disease and displacement and with rising threats of epidemics)

Households needing help:

100,000

(Mostly in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa)

People still waiting to be evacuated:

27,000

(Including 1500 tourists)

International Relief Pledged so far:

US$30,000,000+

(Including US$10 million from the United States, another US$10 million from the United Nations and US$8 million from United Kingdom)

Death Toll:

1650+

(Estimate of 1500+ in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa only)

A Pakistani villager with his daughter moves wades to safety.

Pakistan - in the line of disaster

During the last few days, the country has been through almost all kinds of man-made and natural disasters.

As if target killing on the streets of Karachi in the name of ethnic, political or personal rivalries; the so-called military operation in the northern areas to wipe off the militants form the land of pure was not enough for the nation, nature unleashed at its worst upon the nation.

On Wednesday 28th July, a Pakistani Airbus passenger plane of Airblue crashed in densely wooded Margalla hills of the capital Islamabad, killing up to 152 people on board.

Pakistani government declared Thursday a day of mourning and on that day when the nation was offering silent prayers to the 152 ill-fated passengers of the Airblue flight ABQ-202, nature played havoc upon us, heavy rain and floods.

No survivors in Margalla plane crash

Fact box of ABQ-202 :

• Contact no. of Crisis Management Cell 051-9211223-4.

• At least 152 people were on board the ABQ-202

• No survivors from the crash sight.

• It is believed that the plane had its landing gear out before it crashed.

• Bad weather most likely to be the cause of the crash.

• 6 members of youth parliament were also on board.

• CAA team has recovered the black box from the crash site.

• Plane’s wreckage scattered over 400 sq. meters.

• No technical fault reported in passenger plane.

• Search effort is being hampered by muddy conditions and smoldering wreckage.