Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
UN session and Kashmir solution
The United Nations General Assembly’s 74th annual session began on Tuesday and will last till the 27th of September. This is an opportunity for Pakistan to present the Kashmir issue in the world body. The Kashmir issue has acquired renewed significance after New Delhi announced annexation of the occupied territory on the 5th of Aug 2019.
A former Chief Minister of India-occupied Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, has warned that if the world does nothing to stop the Indian assault on Kashmir, there is danger of two nuclear – armed states getting into direct military confrontation. The Kashmiri people are asking for the rights that were promised to them in UN Resolutions. It is now for the international community to force India to honour its commitments and solve this simmering dispute.
S SAJJAD MANGI
Larkana
Doctors induced depression
Mental health authorities and associations believe that more and more people are getting depressed in the country because of erratic electricity, unsatisfactory water and gas supply and the galloping food prices. The daily hardships suffered by people in commuting, insecurity due to law and order breakdown and political discourse, all such factors are taking their toll. Experts say every hurdle that hinders the smooth in everyday life causes increased stress level in people; and, as the time passes it turns into illnesses requiring specialized assistance.
It is true that all the above-mentioned factors cause depression, but that is not just all. More and more people are suffering from depression because they are increasingly being put on depression medication.
People have been seen going to a medical doctor with a stomach problem, a breathing issue, a minor anxiety issue and coming out with a prescription of an antidepressant with no recommendation to visit a psychologist or a psychiatrist or even a simple humane act such as giving of a warning to the patient as to what the medication might do to their life. The patient, having no clue of what has been given, starts taking the depression medication and enters the distressful world of depression, thus increasing the depression rate figure of the country.
If looked around, every family will present a case such as this. Well, it should most certainly be called as ‘Doctors Induced Depression’. The mental health associations should add this cause in the top list of depression causing factors for awareness and the Government should look into this matter for a possible remedy.
In no country in the world are the SSRIs or Antidepressant being prescribed by the primary healthcare medical doctors. It is a job of a Psychiatrist who is to prescribe the medication after thorough examination of the mental health of the person. Primary healthcare medical doctors are not trained to practise psychotherapy. In Pakistan why the Medical Doctors are persistent and relentless on prescribing Antidepressants is another topic all along.
TALLAT IKRAM
Lahore
Cover-up order
On Monday, September 16, the Education Advisor to CM in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa issued an unusual mandatory order across province that requires all school-going girls to cover up themselves with abaya, gown or chador, a kind of safety measure against any unethical act of harassment.
As soon as the order was issued, it received mixed response. Those in favour, declared the act with line of KP culture tinged with Islamic traditions. However, certain liberal quarters of the society criticized the order and considered it against the freedom of the choice.
To cap this up, covering body is not viable and effective solution to such chronic mental disease. For this, strategy must be formulated but not only for the victim but more importantly for those, who carry such criminal minds.
AAMIR KHAN WAGAN
Via email
Control of Bovine Pleuropneumonia
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is a disease of the respiratory tract of cattle caused by Mycoplasma, mycoides subsp mycoides. The disease is characterized by a long incubation period as long as of six months and is manifested by anorexia, fever, dyspnoea, polypnea, cough and nasal discharges. It induces lesions of pleuropneumonia in acute cases and the formation of pulmonary “sequestra” in chronic cases. World Organization for Animal Health has approved two serological tests: the complement fixation test and a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the diagnosis of CBPP but, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has higher sensitivity hence, the use of PCR is highly recommended in CBPP surveillance especially in test and slaughter procedure for the disease eradication program. Penicillin, aminoglycoside and chloramphenicol should not be used for treatment of CBPP but tetracycline, macrolides, lincosamines and fluoroquinolones are being used against Mycoplasma mycoides subsp mycoidesin Africa. Vaccination is very important to control lung sickness in endemic areas.
The efficacy of live vaccines is directly related to the virulence of the original strain of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp mycoidesused for their production. Attenuated virulent strains may produce the best immunity titer but local and systemic reactions may also be induced which may even result in the death of an animal. Among the many vaccinal strains, only two are now being used in Africa, the Tl/ 44 and itsstreptomycin-resistant derivate, Tlsr. Vaccinal strain Tlsr is completely avirulent, but Tl/44 strain may induce a post-vaccinal reaction at the injection site in some animals. Control strategy must, therefore, be defined with currently available tools. Success of this control strategy is less dependent on technical issues than on determination of veterinary services to implement them and on their ability to put them into practice.
AHSAN ANJUM, PROF DR ASIM ASLAM
Lahore
Need a park
Danyore is rather a huge populated and big city of Gilgit-Baltistan. Its population is growing rapidly due to the migration of tens of thousands of people from far-flung villages in search of education, employment and other facilities. Despite this, in the entire city, there is no park where one can go to take a morning or evening walk, do jogging, playing and other activities necessary for a human to stay active and fit physically.
Only park near Danyore is in Gilgit main city called “City Park” which is far enough for one to reach there on foot. Only those having personal vehicles can manage to go to this park. While, I hail the Chief Minister of GB for building some gorgeous recreational centres and playgrounds across the region, I wonder how come this very city has been neglected.
ZAHID ALI ZOHRI
Nagar, GB
Women marginalization
Through your esteem newspaper, I want to draw the government attention towards the prevalent crisis of women marginalization in the country. They are deprived of attaining their due rights and to be provided with equal opportunities like men in every field of life. Even our constitution suggests for giving equal rights to both of the genders, but we Pakistanis are reluctant to act like so.
Therefore, acid attacks, rape, harassment, assaulting, abusing, kidnapping and honour killing of women in our country have no end. These horrendous tragedies are, unfortunately, occurring or being faced by females on a regular basis. The authorities have failed to put a halt on the heinous crimes surfacing everywhere in country.
The major cause behind these agonizing acts is not empowering the women to achieve their fundamental rights and know their rights to eradicate the issue which they are facing. Due attention must be taken against the burning issue of women marginalization due to which they are not safe anywhere in the country.
WAHEED WAHID
Makran
Domestic violence in Pakistan
Domestic violence in Pakistan is an endemic social and public health problem. According to a study, it is estimated that between 20 and 30pc of women in Pakistan have suffered one or the other form of abuse. An estimated 5000 women are killed per year from domestic violence, with thousands of others maimed or disabled. Women have reported attacks ranging from physical to psychological and sexual abuse from intimate partners.
As defined by the WHO, domestic violence encompasses physical and psychological distress including sexual coercive or former male intimate partner. Lisa Hajjar, an Associate Professor at the University of California, describes abuse against women in Pakistan as endemic in all social spheres. According to a study published in the Pakistan Medical Sciences journal, 218 women in the gynaecology wards of three hospitals, 97% of the interviewed women said they had been the victim of some form of assault ranging from verbal abuse to being subjected to beating or non-consensual sex. This confirms how high is domestic violence in Pakistani households.
Domestic violence is one the most horrendous kinds of abuse being suffered by women in our society today. The statistics show that 85pc of domestic violence victims are female. Only 15 percent of victims are male. Domestic violence can happen to anyone, it does not matter the race, creed, religion, or standing in society of the victim. If the issue of domestic violence is not dealt with a manner, which is sufficient, then this type of abuse will continue among all classes of society with no ending. We all should work collectively to eradicate this horrendous type of abuse from the society.
MUSAWIR ALI
Larkana
