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November 2011

Mask of deception

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Qaisar Sultan

Mimicry is part of our nature. The survival of the species mostly depends on the power to deceive and propensity for awareness and responsiveness of impending threat of the invader’s attack through mimicry and deception. If we look at the disease of AID, we find out that HIV virus that cause the disease changes itself to be a true copy of human body defense system by mimicking the white cells and reproduce its own T-cells. Now scientists are working on using the same idea to fight cancers by deceiving the cancer cells.  So it seems to us that the mimicry may play an important role to defend our health and our assumed role in the society. The octopus is a master of mimicking the invaders and the prey at the same time; it may change its color or shape to deceive. The species that do not have the faculty of deception are more vulnerable to the attacks of the predators. Frogs, chameleons, some birds and beetle have the ability to change their colors and shape and form to mimic the predators. Some of the species have survived due to the mimicry built in its very design by nature. The camouflage brings safety to the prey and the predators. IsRead More »Mask of deception

CHINA-A THREAT TO INDIAN HEGEMONIC DESIGNS

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PROFESSOR ALI SUKHANVER

 

It is a day-light fact that at presentChinais the only force which can guarantee the balance of power as well as peace and prosperity in the South-Asian region. With the increasing influence and interference ofUSAin the South-Asian region and after the rapidly growing US-Indiacloseness, world is looking towardsChinafor a more vibrant and lively role to play. Even inPakistanpeople are expecting the role of a saviour fromChina. Such expectations are no doubt generating an air of depression and despair in the countries likeIndiawhich considerChinathe most severe threat to their hegemonic designs in the region. To minimize Chinese importance in the region and to create misunderstandings betweenChinaandPakistanas well as to defame Pak-China relations, Indian propaganda machine is trying to do all the best possible. The recent propaganda regarding the presence of Chinese troops in Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Biltistan province is also a part of this fruitless and futile effort. Indian media is describing the so-called presence of Chinese troops in AJK and Gilgit Biltistan province as a grave threat to Indian security. The matter of the fact is that these so-called Chinese troops are not a part of the Chinese army; they are simply the Chinese engineers and survey technicians who have joined hands with the Pakistan Frontier Works Organization FWO to rebuild and repair portions ofKarakoram Highway, damaged due to recent floods and earthquakes. It is something unintelligible how these engineers and survey technicians could be a threat to the Indian security. It is something very ironical that on the basis of this baseless allegation,Indiahas planned to recruit 100,000 soldiers over the next five years to deploy them on Indo-China border and Indian Occupied Kashmir. It is also in the air that Indian army is planning to deploy two independent armoured brigades in Uttarkhand and Ladakh areas along with raising a mountain strike corps and four divisions. Read More »CHINA-A THREAT TO INDIAN HEGEMONIC DESIGNS

Free will and success

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Qaisar Sultan

If we ask a person with a moderate to reasonably well-defined success: Have you failed or succeeded in your life? There will be few, except for the pessimists, who would say that they failed in this life. We don’t compare and we should not worry about someone who has done better than us.  Then how do we measure our own success? It is relative to the circumstances, the environment and the attitude towards life. It is difficult to suggest that a person has failed in his life. We live with what is sometimes given to us. A person born in ghetto may compare the life within that small world to judge his life.  The modern idea of success is defined by the free will that is endowed to us by the creator. The concept of free will is very debatable. We have choices to make in our lives. We can establish our goals and aims. We can work hard, establish goals, develop passion, focus on our goals and be persistent on what we go out to do as we start our lives right from a young age.   An acorn may be sowed in a suitable soil to grow; we can water it- What happens when a blowing wind destroys the tree or someone cuts it down. But there is no doubt that we are supposed to be vigilant about what is needed toRead More »Free will and success

Islamabad’s perfect spots for taking a walk

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By Myra Imran

Considering its immense benefits, more and more people in town are taking time out to go for a brisk walk and as their number grows so have the spots that provide a perfect setting for a stroll.

Perhaps the most fancied spot remains the Fatima Jinnah Park. Each morning and evening, scores of people arrive at this park either to walk, jog or exercise or further still just sit and while away the time.

The park, the biggest in Islamabad is thought to be the most appropriate place to walk because of its vastness and pollution-free atmosphere. The walking tracks and exercise areas, though less in number, makes it a perfect place for those seeking to have healthy life.
Read More »Islamabad’s perfect spots for taking a walk

Under-21 foreign spouses can go to UK now

LONDON: Foreign spouses will be able to enter the UK from the age of 18 after the courts ruled that banning under-21s was not a lawful way of dealing with the problem of forced marriages.

Immigration Minister Damian Green told MPs the Government would revert to the lower age limit from November 28. The measure will benefit many Pakistani young spouses who had been affected by the ban imposed by the coalition government. One of the two families who challenged the ban were Pakistanis. Read More »Under-21 foreign spouses can go to UK now

UK student visa; Changes to cut abuses, raise standards

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Tough new rules and enforcement action to stop abuse of the student visa system and to protect legitimate students from being misled by questionable institutions has led to over 450 education providers in the UK that will no longer be able to sponsor new international students.

In total these colleges could have brought more than 11,000 students into the UK to study each year.

New UK Border Agency regulations have significantly raised the standards education providers must meet before they can bring international students to the UK. So far, over 400 colleges have lost their right to recruit international students after they failed to sign up for the new inspection system. As well as cutting abuse, the new standards will help ensure that genuine international students receive the highest quality education.Read More »UK student visa; Changes to cut abuses, raise standards

Book Announcement: – “A Daughter’s Heart”

An autobiographical account of a young daughter’s journey after the untimely death of her father, is about to hit the markets. Bushra Zulfiqar a Pakistani writer and development activist explores the phenomenon of death through reliving her personal loss in the form of an extra ordinary father daughter relationship. The book also addresses critical themes in the historical evolution of Pakistan and brings to the fore front the youth’s position in this fluid and happening country. It highlights the plight of minorities living in Pakistan and strikes at the heart of some of the harsh paradoxes that constitute the very genre of social equality and development.      Read More »Book Announcement: – “A Daughter’s Heart”

US can not do an Osama-type raid on Pak nuclear weapons: Musharraf

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said that the country’s nuclear weapons are very hard targets and can never be attacked by the United States.

“I don’t think it is possible from my purely military perspective for anyone, including the United States, to attack them that easily,” Musharraf told Fareed Zakaria of the CNN in an interview.

“They are very well dispersed and they are in very strong positions and also guarded. So, therefore, I don’t think it’s as simple as Osama bin Laden action or one point action, which is a soft target. This is a very hard target. These are very hard targets. And in places which are not accessible,” he said.Read More »US can not do an Osama-type raid on Pak nuclear weapons: Musharraf