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.

Rural women’s role in society dev highlighted

Published in Pakistan Observer (16 Oct. 2010)
Sana Jamal

Islamabad - To highlight the importance and address the woes of rural women, Oct 15 was celebrated as ‘World Rural Women’s Day’ all over the world.
To mark the World Rural Women Day in Pakistan, a two-day annual conference was arranged by Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy (PODA) in collaboration with 56 other organizations at Lok Virsa, Islamabad.Firday’s conference was presided over by Federal Minister for Culture Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani and inaugurated by Farzana Raja, Member National Assembly and Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme.

The theme of the conference was “Rural Women, Disaster Mitigation and Peace” where the rural women from across the country participated to articulate the problems they were going through especially after the floods.

“We have chosen the theme of disaster because the rural women are currently in great miseries due to the havoc played by the flood in various parts of the country,” said PODA Director Samina Nazir.

This day is celebrated worldwide to coincide with the World Food Day, in order to emphasize the role played by rural women in food production and food security.Rural women of Pakistan constitute the invisible work force which keeps the family and the rural economy alive, but their labour often goes under-rewarded.

Pakistan rural women are major contributors in agriculture and production fields. A rural woman’s work ranges from crop production, livestock production to cottage industry to household and family maintenance. However her role and dignity has yet not been recognized even after her extended involvement in economy and family at the same time.

'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.

Poetry book for children launched

Published in Pakistan Observer on 5th Oct. 2010

Islamabad— Zawiya, a literary organisation launched Shehnaz Rauf’s poem book for children titled as ‘Roshni’ at National language Authority (NLA), in Islamabad on Monday.

The author, Shehnaz Rauf, a teacher at OPF College recited a few of her poems at the ceremony and delivered a lecture on the psychology of the children.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Javed (of Allama Iqbal Open University) pointed out that Pakistan lags behind in producing quality literature for children hence there is a dire need to promote the children's literarure industry in the country.

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.

Revival of a forgotten art in Islamabad

Edited news version printed in Pakistan Observer on Sept. 24, 2010.

Islamabad: A three-day calligraphy workshop was sponsored by Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) for the art learners (from Sept. 21-23, 2010), which has truly injected a new life to the forgotten art of calligraphy among Pakistanis. The rare workshop was arranged by the efforts of Director General PNCA, Mr. Tauqeer Nasir in order to revive the interest of youth in Islamic art of calligraphy.

Upon entering the huge room of the workshop, few students were found scattered around the room, busy with their painting brushes and papers. At the front of the room, a man was sitting with a desk full of calligraphic scriptures and few youngsters gathered around him asking different questions. This man is Mohammad Elahi Bukhsh Muttee, an eminent calligrapher who remained quite busy teaching some 40 students about the skill of writing original form of calligraphy to the students.

Japanese Film Festival in Islamabad

Published in Pakistan Observer on Sept. 23, 2010.
Sana Jamal
ISLAMABAD: The Japanese Film Festival screened two films “Sumo do, Sumo don’t” and “Tokyo- Tower” at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) auditorium on Wednesday 22nd September, 2010.
This Film Festival arranged by the Embassy of Japan in collaboration with the PNCA and Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association, was open to school children and the public on Wednesday; and was keenly attended by the students (10-16 years of age) of Anglo-Arabic School, Beaconhouse School, Jinnah Public School and Sheikh Zayed International School of Islamabad.

The first film screened “Sumo do, Sumo don’t” (103 minutes long) was greatly appreciated by the school children and teenagers who thoroughly enjoyed every part of the film.

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.

In pictures: Pakistan's worst flood

Few heart-breaking pictures of Pakistan's worst flood disaster.


Pakistani children sit on a bed to eat their food Saturday in a flood-hit area of Qasim Bella, on the outskirts of Multan, Pakistan.





A child weeps in a relief camp.

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.

Timeline of major Pakistani air crashes

Following is a chronology of major air crashes in Pakistan or involving Pakistani planes:

May 20, 1965: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing 707 crashes on its inaugural flight while attempting to land at Cairo airport, killing 124 people.

August 6, 1970: A PIA Fokker F27 turboprop aircraft crashes while attempting to take off from Islamabad in a thunderstorm, killing all 30 people on board.

December 8, 1972: A PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. All 26 people on board are killed.

November 26, 1979: A PIA Boeing 707 bringing home Pakistani Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia crashes shortly after take-off from Jeddah airport, killing 156 people.

October 23, 1986: A PIA Fokker F27 crashes while coming in to land in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 13 of the 54 people on board.

August 17, 1988: A US-made Hercules C-130 military aircraft crashes near Pakistan's eastern city of Bahawalpur, killing military ruler General Mohammad Zia ul Haq and 30 others including Pakistani generals and the US ambassador.

August 25, 1989: A PIA Fokker carrying 54 people disappears after leaving Gilgit in northern Pakistan. The wreckage is never found.

September 28, 1992: A PIA Airbus A300 crashes into a cloud-covered hillside on approach to the Nepalese capital Kathmandu after the plane descended too early, killing 167 people.

February 19, 2003: An air force Fokker F27 crashes in fog-shrouded mountains near the northwestern city of Kohat, killing air force chief Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali, his wife and 15 others.

February 24, 2003: A chartered Cessna 402-B carrying Afghan Mines and Industries Minister Juma Mohammad Mohammadi, four Afghan officials, a Chinese mining executive and two Pakistani crew crashes into the Arabian Sea near the southern city of Karachi.

July 10, 2006: A PIA Fokker F27 bound for Lahore crashes into a field and bursts into flames shortly after takeoff from the central city of Multan, killing 41 passengers and four crew.

July 28, 2010: An Airblue Airbus 321 flying from Karachi crashes into hills outside Islamabad while preparing to land, killing everyone on board. Civil aviation authorities say 152 people were on board while police put the number at 149.

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.

Embracing long awaited victory

Finally the long, long wait of Pakistan for a Test victory over Australia came to an end as Pakistan overwhelmed mighty Australia by three wickets to achieve historic victory at Headingley ground on Saturday.
Cricket fans all across the country took to the streets in Pakistan to celebrate their side’s first Test victory over Australia in 15 years, after a tense fourth-day finish at Headingley.

Salman Butt is being praised by all for as he made a winning start as captain and became the eighth Pakistani captain after Fazal Mahmood, Mushtaq Mohammed, Javed Miandad, Waqar Younis, Salim Malik, Ramiz Raja and Mohammed Yousuf to win his maiden Test match as captain.

General Kayani to stay on till 2013

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced on Thursday that General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will be military chief till 2013.

PM made the announcement in a three-minute televised address to the nation in which he showered praise on Kayani and termed him a respected person both nationally and internationally.

Gilani said that Kayani’s extension was necessary for continuity in Pakistan’s fight against terrorism and said,
“He was a key designer of the strategy for the war on terror and it is progressing well under him. The war is going through a critical stage… continuity is needed at the moment and we are sure that the war on terror, under Kayani, will reach its logical conclusion successfully.”

 

Another act of Israeli barbarism

Israeli attack on Freedom Flotilla has very well proved that Israel does not value human lives let alone international laws but the well-wishers of Israel are silent on this issue as Israel undertakes another act of barbarism and continues to show its real face to the world.

Israel Navy troops opened fire on pro-Palestinian activists aboard a six-ship flotilla carrying aid destined for the Gaza Strip before dawn Monday, killing at least 16 people and wounding several others, after the convoy ignored orders to turn back.

The ships, carrying more than 700 passengers also included three Pakistanis namely, Talat Hussain, Agha Raza (Both of Aaj TV) and Mr. Nadeem(of an NGO, Khubaib, Islamabad) , along with representatives of 40 other countries, taking 10,000 tonnes of food, medicine and other goods to Gaza, which has been completely blocked by the Israelis since 2007.

MillatFacebook, Pakistan’s Answer to Facebook

Frustrated with Facebook’s lack of privacy and biased policies, few techies have launched Pakistan’s first social network, MillatFacebook.

A group of six young IT professionals from Lahore, the cultural and entertainment capital of Pakistan, Launched http://www.millatfacebook.com/on Tuesday for Muslims to interact online and protest against blasphemy. The private venture came after a Pakistani court ordered a block on Facebook until May 31, following deep offence over an “Everyone Draw Mohammed Day” page considered “blasphemous” and “sacrilegious”.

“Millatfacebook is Pakistan’s very own, first social networking site. A site for Muslims by Muslims where sweet people of other religions are also welcome,” the website tells people interested in signing up.

From NWFP to Pakhtoonkhwa

After years of demands and complains of the Pakhtoons, Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province is officially renamed as Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, when the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PCCR) signed the draft of the 18th Amendment in the first week of April 2010.

The British rulers named NWFP- North Western Frontier Province, commonly as Sarhad in Urdu, for convenience after they had brought certain areas in the north-western part of their empire together as a single administrative unit.

No Sunni nor Shia there is only one thing, Islam.

Foreword

Last two days I have been reading about Shia-Sunni tension, the origin, the base, the rationale on the suggestion of a friend and there are tons of stories available online. It seems like every other person has a new and interesting story to tell.

The shia literature and stories are quite inspiring and this lead me into the world of noha, marsiya and lectures which I thoroughly like to listen and felt serene. However this new fondness was not much appreciated in my circle and they posed questions such as, 'Are you shia?’ ‘You never told that before.'

And it left me totally dumbfounded. I could not come up with an answer but saying I am a Muslim.

But this question that continued to trouble me inside was, what does it mean to be a Shia or a Sunni, why should it matter?

Iqbal day..

Is the party over?

News of the day:

- MQM to oppose NRO, advises President to step down

Chief Mutahidda Quomi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain while talking to Private TV Channel has said that he has directed his party members’ national assembly to oppose NRO in the Parliament.
MQM Rabta Committee Member Mohammad Anwar while talking to Private TV Channel has confirmed that his Party Chief Altaf Hussain has advised President to step down in better interest of country. The President neither should take test of his coalition partners nor his own Party in the Parliament, he said.
“I appeal to the president, his friends and loyalists not to derail democracy, and produce themselves before the people to save the system, and tell them that they are not presenting the NRO in the assembly,” he advised.

No matter how complex it may seem, but Pakistani politics is surely hard to resist.
With its changing scenarios every day, thrilling dialogues, comments and ever-changing manifestos of political parties, the politics of Pakistan has become more or less a form of entertainment for the people of Pakistan.
And today has been the day of MQM, which was all over the screens of Pakistani news channels because of its volatile move of going against the flow.

This unpredictable move by MQM of opposing National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in the Parliament which was known as marriage of PPP and MQM is sure to hit the government sooner or later.

This sudden act of MQM of opposing NRO and pointing fingers at Mr. President has disturbed the political scene for the ruling party for a while which seemed to be ruling without facing any opposition or having an inch of concern for the citizens. Whether or not this proves to be a good change for the people of Pakistan but hopefully this might bring a little change in the attitude of the ruling elites.

The way the MQM chief Altaf Hussain advised President Zardari to give sacrifice and face the courts in order to save the country from chaos and turn its direction towards betterment was quite impressive. It reminded me of the Festival of Sacrifice (Eid ul Adha) or more commonly known as eid e qurbaan which is just around the corner. It seemed like an indication that the time has come when Mr. President and his party should be ready to sacrifice positions/ranks for the betterment of the country and for the people.

Is the party really over for the PPP and its supporters? Only time will tell but it seems perhaps the time has come when the ruling party of Pakistan should decide their fate or it will be written over by the people of Pakistan, as it is said that,

"If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

First US official resigns over Afghanistan war

A senior diplomat has become the first US official to resign in protest at the war in Afghanistan, in a move that has shaken the White House, according to reports.

Matthew Hoh, 36, a former captain in the Marine Corps who fought in Iraq before joining the US State department, resigned from his post as the senior US civilian in Zabul province, a Taleban stronghold in Afghanistan. He said that he believed the war only fuelled the insurgency, the Washington Post reports.

"I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan," Mr Hoh wrote in his resignation letter, dated September 10.

"I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end."

He said that many Afghans were fighting the United States largely because its troops were there. While the Taleban was a malign presence, and al-Qaeda needed to be confronted, he said, the US was asking its troops to die in Afghanistan for what was essentially a far-off civil war.

American families, he wrote; "must be reassured their dead have sacrificed for a purpose worthy of futures lost, love vanished, and promised dreams unkept. I have lost confidence such assurances can be made any more."
Richard Holbrooke, the White House's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told the Post he disagreed that the war "wasn't worth the fight.". However, he added, "I agreed with much of his analysis."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6891536.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093

From FreeMasons to Blackwater(Xe)

Blackwater is more than just a “private army”, Blackwater is a religious army serving the Pope in Rome through the Order of Malta, which is itself considered under international law, as a sovereign entity with special diplomatic powers and privileges.
Like Blackwater, the Order of Malta is “untouchable” because it is at the heart of the elite aristocracy.

“The painful saga of modern Arab-Muslim history evokes the battles fought in Crusades of the 11th centry – when the Knights of Malta began their operations as a Christian militia whose mission it was to defend the land conquered by the Crusaders. These memories return violently to mind with the discovery of links between the so-called security firms in Iraq such as Blackwater have historic links with the Order of Malta. You cannot exaggerate it. The Order of Malta is a hidden government or the most mysterious government in the world.”

- Jordanian MP Jamal Muhammad Abidat, from an editorial in the United Arab Emirates daily Al-Bayan entitled “The Knights of Malta – more than a conspiracy”.

Source- http://aftermathnews.wordpress.com/2007/10/01/blackwater-knights-of-malta-in-iraq/

Here is the video link of the news in which former employees of Blackwater allege Erik D. Prince(the founder and owner of private army Blackwater or Xe) as the one who claims himself as a Christian Crusader whose task is to eliminate Muslims.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab3aiaRODdY

Founder of security firm, Erik D. Prince, see himself as a Christian Crusader whose task is to eliminate Muslims, former employees allege.

Two former employees of Blackwater(recently renamed Xe) have accused the private US security firm and its founder of killing Iraqis for fun, smuggling weapons and deceiving the State Department.
The men, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation — one claimed that Blackwater management threatened to kill him — also claimed they had learnt that at least one person who has or planned to speak out against the US firm and its founder Erik Prince was killed in mysterious circumstances.

The claims were made in sworn statements filed in a court in Virginia earlier this week as part of a civil lawsuit by families of several Iraqis allegedly killed by Blackwater guards.

The ex-Blackwater workers, a former Marine identified as John Doe No 1 and another man identified as John Doe No 2, are American citizens.

John Doe No 2 makes a series of accusations against Mr Prince. He says the Blackwater Worldwide boss views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe, according to his declaration posted, along with a series of other legal documents, on the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) website.

To that end, Mr Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades.

He adds that "on several occasions after my departure from Mr Prince's employ, Mr Prince's management has personally threatened me with death or violence. In addition, based on information provided to me by former colleagues it appears that Mr Prince and his employees murdered or had murdered one or more persons who have provided information or were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct."

Susan Burke, a private lawyer working with the CCR, is acting against Blackwater in five separate civil cases. She filed the documents in opposing a motion by Blackwater to dismiss the cases.
The plaintiffs are challenging Mr Princes callous scheme to kill, repeatedly, innocent Iraqis, Ms Burkes motion reads.

They say that some of the weapons were illegal. John Doe No 2 lists hand grenades and hand grenade launchers. John Doe No 1 names an M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon, known as a saw.
He also recounts three incidents in which he says he witnessed Blackwater guards needlessly kill or injure Iraqi civilians.

In one case, John Doe No 1 says the convoy he was in pulled over to fix a flat tyre on a vehicle. A civilian car with two people inside drove by. He says that one of the other Blackwater employees began firing into the car. From my vantage point, it was clear that XXX was clearly injuring and likely killing the passenger and likely injuring the driver as well.

John Doe No 1 also alleges that the State Department was kept in the dark or deliberately misled about such incidents.
John Doe No 2 claims that "going to Iraq to shoot and kill Iraqis was viewed as a sport or game".

Blackwater, which is based in North Carolina, had a multimillion-dollar contract to protect the US Embassy in Baghdad and other State Department officials.
Washington did not renew the contract after it expired in May. The Iraqi Government was highly critical of Blackwater after the shooting in September 2007 of 17 civilians, which did severe damage to the reputation of foreign private security companies in the country.

Freemason to Xe