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.
Women empowerment
I am pleased to refer to an article published in your esteemed daily on 17.12.21 by Dr. Farah Naz. I take this opportunity to add a few names of important women who have made significant contributions for ‘women empowerment’ in Pakistan. In fact, I will be failing in my duty if I do not mention their pragmatic role played while serving the nation.
First of all, it is our Mother-e-Millat, Fatima Jinnah, a cherished sister of Quaid-e-Azam, M.A.Jinnah who helped her brother in the liberation of an independent Islamic State. Then our national melodious voice of Madam Noor Jahan, who sang for our fighting forces during wars, which rejuvenated the spirit of our national heroes.
Finally, I feel exhilarated to mention the name of Prof Dr Sania Nishtar (grand-daughter of the great benefactor of Pakistan, Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar and a confidante of Quaid-i-Azam). She is undoubtedly playing a transformative role in alleviating the poverty to prosperity in marginalized population through her Ehsaas Programme.
I remind the young writer of a verse from Bal-e-Jibrail by Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Khol, Ankh, Zameen Dekh, Falak Dekh, Faza Dekh, Mashriq se Ubherte Howe Sutaj ko Zara Dekh.
DR YASIN DURRANI
Islamabad
Rights of minorities in Islam
The heads of true Muslims in general and that of Pakistanis in particular always bow down in disgrace and shame whenever some odd happens at the hands of religious bigots. The recent lynching tragedy of Sialkot led to the dismay and serious concerns over misrepresented Shariah on the rights of minorities in Pakistan.
The moral principles, as defined in Islam and as to be enjoyed by the legal citizens of Pakistan, are often wrongly conceptualized and manipulated. Under such situation, perception dominates the truth and thus causes grave repercussion on the cultural fabric of society. The Constitution of Pakistan ensures safety, security and protection of all faiths.
In reality, Islam, as a religion of peace, condemns acts of violence and extremist behaviour on the part of its followers. Islamic history is the witness of this fact as many Islamic states demonstrated peace and harmony in their governance system.
The city state of Madinah belonged to a diverse population in terms of religion, caste, creed and culture. It was a miracle that the generations of “period of ignorance” learnt to live in peace. Moreover, during the Conquest of Makkah at the time of the Holy Prophet (SAWW), it was announced as ‘Yaumul Marhamah’ (Day of Mercy) for the non-believers. Such was the exemplary gesture of the Last Prophet (M-SAWW) we all need to follow.
History leaves an important lesson for all of us to learn that it was always Islam that saved us from any oddities of life; not Muslims who have ever saved Islam. Islam being complete code of life is the real saviour of humanity. So, it has inherent characteristics of making peace, progress and prosperity. The problem lies in some rigid followers who misinterpret the love and peace narratives of Islam just for their petty benefits.
The Muslims who are snatching the rights of minorities are going against the true spirit of Islam and the Constitution of Pakistan.
NUSHWA SHARIF,
AROOJ IQBAL
Islamabad
Animal trypanosomiasis
Animal trypanosomiasis is a serious threat to animals, presents a major constraint to the productivity losses and international trade in developing countries such as Pakistan. The disease infects a wide range of domestic and wild animals such as cattle, buffalo, camels, equines, dogs, pigs, deers, antelopes, duikers, sheep and goat. The said infection can be acute (high mortality) or chronic (subclinical infection) and characterized by recurrent episodes of parasitemia-associated pyrexia, progressive anaemia, generalized loss of body condition, infertility, spontaneous abortions, neuropathy and eventually death.
Theileri is potentially pathogenic for those animals which are under stress such as physical and nutritional stress, including pregnant and newborn animals. Previous studies reported trypanosomiasis infection in buffalo, sheep, goats, camel and equines, however, information on the prevalence of other Trypanosoma species in Pakistan is rare. We report first genetic evidence of Trypanosomatheileri in the cattle breed originating from the Southern Punjab province. The genetic marker (18S small subunit rDNA) employed is highly reliable and have previously been used worldwide to discriminate closely related species.
In this study, we reported first time the evolution of diaminazine resistance conferring mutations by targeting drug resistance genomic marker by employing high throughput deep amplicon sequencing through IlluminaMi-Seq tool on livestock population in Trypanosoma endemic regions across Pakistan. The findings of this study manifest the better comprehension of drug resistance pattern to develop alternative chemotherapeutic choices in order to develop better trypanosomiasis control and mitigation measures in livestock sector in indigenous and global settings.
GHULAMYASEIN
Lahore
