The doctor who made history

Dr. Bangash said that he will continue to work on more transplant procedures in October and hopes to begin pediatric transplantation next year. – Photo by Hussain Afzal / Dawn.com

KARACHI: Dr. Tariq Ali Bangash who directed Pakistan’s first successful cadaver liver transplant at Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore shares his experiences regarding the historic achievement.
The inspiring lecture was organised by Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT). Dr. Bangash said that Dr. Adeeb Rizvi has always been his inspiration and his father always encouraged him to be like Dr. Rizvi and nothing else. He said that Dr. Rizvi also did the homework of the first cadaver liver transplant in Pakistan.
The cadaveric liver transplant is a process in which the liver of a deceased person is transferred into a patient. In this case, the liver was donated by Mohammad Arsalan, a 16-year-old matriculation student from Lahore. Arsalan had been wounded and was admitted to the hospital three days before the transplantation and had asked his parents to donate his liver in the case of his death.
On August 13, 2011, Pakistani media highlighted the first successful attempt of a liver transplant. A team of professionals led by Dr. Bangash retrieved the liver at 3:30 pm; the transplant process started at 9:00 pm and finished the process at 5:00 am.
Dr. Bangash said that the liver was donated to Amir Raza – a 40-year-old businessman from Sialkot.
“He showed signs of rocky progress after the transplantation and after five or six days, the patient was released from the ICU and is now back at work,” Bangash added.
From Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Leeds
Dr. Bangash belongs to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and did his MBBS in 1996. He then worked with nine experts on nine different liver transplantation approaches in Leeds UK, which is now the largest transplant center in Europe, receiving up to 450 liver recipients a year.

The doctors and paramedics at SIUT at the lecture of Dr. Tariq Ali Bangash. – Photo by Hussain Afzal / Dawn.com

Two years ago, Dr.Bangash joined the Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Lahore.
He said that the waiting list is increasing as the organ shortage is getting worse every year.
“On the other hand, transplantation of complex organs – such as liver – need huge resources and expertise; it is teamwork of a variety of professionals including nutritionists, pharmacists and even social workers,” he added.
Dr. Bangash said that he will continue to work on more transplant procedures in October and hopes to begin pediatric transplantation next year.
Responding to a question Dawn.com asked regarding his return to Pakistan despite the country’s harsh situation, he said that we should remain hopeful about our country and its future.
“There are so many Pakistani professionals around the world who are willing to return to the country and soon they will,” he added.

Pak Navy Fast Attack Craft launched

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Navy has become the first maritime force in the region that is equipped with stealth technology after its first Fast Attack Craft (FAC) equipped with missiles was launched on Tuesday. India also launched its FAC on the same day in Kochi.
"The version Pakistan has bought has far better qualities and added features including cost efficiency and multi-role in any combat activity," said an insider. "The inclusion of the FAC-M in Pakistan navy will enhance its capacity to fight against terrorism and extremism."
According to the Pakistan Navy, the FAC-M, designated as PNS Azmat was launched at Tianjin (Xingang Chinese Shipyard) in an impressive ceremony where Pakistan's Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Noman Bashir was the chief guest. The vessel will be the first of the Azmat class FAC, scheduled to be delivered to the Pakistan Navy within six months.
The missile craft construction project represents a quantum leap, not only in defence production in the maritime sector of Pakistan, but also addresses a long-standing operational requirement of the Navy. The fast attack craft is equipped with advanced weaponry and sensors, including the C802A surface-to-surface missile, and has stealth features. The FAC in question has a crew of 12 to 14 sailors, less than half that of similar craft. At a unit cost of an estimated $50 million each, a Navy with limited resources could afford both the financial and manpower commitment.
Admiral Noman Bashir, who has brought several innovations in Pakistan, addressed the ceremony marking the launching of FAC-M.
Acknowledging the efforts of Chinese engineers and technicians for the construction
of FAC-M, the chief guest felicitated the China State Shipbuilding Company (CSOC), Xingang Shipyard for their full cooperation and commitment in launching the craft as per schedule and remarked that this was yet another example of the unique and unparallel relations between the two countries.
"The Pakistan-China relationship is unique and does not draw any parallel in the world.
This relationship over the years has matured in all fields, particularly in defence," he said, adding that the current geo-political situation demands further strengthening of ties between the two countries.
The CNS said that this project represents a quantum leap not only in the defence production in Maritime Sector of Pakistan but also addresses a longstanding operational requirement of Pakistan Navy.
"The collaboration in this project hopefully will open new vistas of cooperation which will be yet another milestone in defence cooperation between China and Pakistan," he said, adding that the induction of the missile craft will not only supplement Pakistan's combat potential but also afford the Pakistan Navy the opportunity to distinctly uphold its forward presence in the area of interest, contributing to a balance the power in the region.
The admiral said the environment around us warrants the Pakistan navy to be prepared to counter the forces challenging our sovereignty as well as regional peace and security.
Admiral Noman Bashir said he was confident that the construction of the second fast attack craft in Pakistan will be accomplished successfully with the full cooperation ofChina.
The Indian media has reported that India added a new warship to its fleet with the commissioning of FAC in Kochi to aid in anti-piracy operations in the Arabian Sea. It has been named after an island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago as Kabra.
Vice Admiral Sushil underscored the importance of relatively smaller ships like fast attack craft for a blue water navy, saying the assets were an essential inventory in peacetime for low intensity conflicts and anti-piracy operations.
It is the eighth of a series built with borrowed technology. The main armament of the ship is a 30mm CRN 91 gun. In addition, the ship has been fitted with machineguns of various types and shoulder launched surface-to-air missiles. INS Kabra has a three-officer and 39-sailor crew.

Mushahid honoured with Cambodian Award

ISLAMABAD, Sep 25 (APP): Pakistan Muslim League (PML) Secretary General Mushahid Hussain was decorated with one of the highest awards of Cambodia at an investiture ceremony held at Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia. The Award, Grand Order of the Kingdom of Cambodia, was awarded for  Mushahid Hussain’s services for promoting Asian causes and bringing Asian  people closer together’. The award was presented by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, while the former Speaker of the Philippines and former Vice President of Indonesia also received similar awards.

Mushahid Hussain is the first Pakistani to be so honoured by an Asian country like Cambodia, said a press release.
Before getting the Award, Mushahid Hussain also was keynote speaker at an International Forum on “Asian Century: Challenges and Prospects”, which was attended by an audience of 500 invited guests.
In his speech, Mushahid Hussain spoke about the sacrifices and contributions of Pakistan since 1979, when it helped the West win the Cold War by helping to defeat the Soviet Red Army in Afghanistan and hosted the world’s biggest ever refugee population of nearly 3 million Afghan refugees for over 3 decades.
Mushahid Hussain said 3 events in 1979 had influenced the course of modern Asian history: the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan, the Iranian Revolution and China’s historic decision to reform and open up its economy, which resulted in lifting 500 million people out of poverty within a generation, now making China the world’s second largest economy.
He also referred to the resilience and sacrifices of the Pakistani people since 9/11, when over 40,000 Pakistanis were victims of terrorism, including 10,000 from the security forces.
Regarding the financial costs of the war on terror, Mushahid Hussain said while the United States was spending $ 2.5 billion every week on the war in Afghanistan, it had promised Pakistan $ 12.5 billion aid over a 5 year period,which came to the same amount of money that the US was spending in just 5 weeks of the Afghanistan War.
He also compared the US strategy in Afghanistan with the American war in Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1970s.
Mushahid Hussain also presented a profile of 21st century Pakistan, terming it as a ‘dynamic democracy with a free media, an independent judiciary and a vibrant civil society’.
The International ‘Asian Century’ Forum was also addressed by former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, and presided over by Cambodian deputy Prime Minister Sok An. Diplomats, ministers, professors and students were among those attending the forum.

“WTN” award nomination for Pakistani Scholar

 

Pakistani scholar Dr. Athar Osama has been nominated for the “World Technology Network” award. The awards to be distributed in the World Technology Summit, to be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, USA on October 25 – 26, 2011. – Image courtesy by Athar Osama

rameen Bank), Mark Zuckurberg (Facebook founder), Larry Page (Google) and Tim Berners – Lee (Inventor of Internet), however, no Pakistani has won this award as yet.

The awards to be distributed in the World Technology Summit, to be  held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, USA on October 25 – 26, 2011.
WTN selects the finalists through a peer reviewed process and a well established criteria. On individual bases, the awards are distributed in 20 categories such as arts, biotechnology, education, energy, entertainment, health, media and journalism and information technology. WTN also awards to the companies and organisations in10 different categories. The WTN awards have been presented since 2000. Prominent advisors and professionals are included in the selection panel of WTN awards.
“This year we are more eager than ever to pay tribute to the talent and innovation of our individual and corporate honorees,” said James P. Clark, Founder and Chairman of the World Technology Network.
Dr. Athar Osama frequently writes about science, technology and innovation issues especially on Islamic countries. He is the director of Middle East and Asia for ANGLE Plc – a UK based firm for technology commercialisation and policy. He also works at RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA as a science and technology policy analyst.
Recently, he launched Muslim-Science.Com, an online journal discussing the issues of Science, Technology, Innovation and Policy mainly concerned with Muslim countries.
Osama did his Bachelors from the Pakistan Air force Academy and did his doctorate in public policy from Pardee RAND Graduate School.

Just read and feel PROUD TO BE PAKISTANI

1. Pakistan is the most connected country in South Asia, with the highest teledensity
2. Pakistan's communications costs are lower than any other country in the region
3. Pakistan has the world's largest biometric database (NADRA); this system (not the data) is now being provided to allied countries
4. Pakistan has the world's largest WiMAX network
5. Pakistan has one of the world's most aggressive Fibre-to-the- Home (FTTH) rollouts
6. Pakistan has one of the highest rates of cellular connectivity growth in the world (According to PTA 2007's report the rate of growth in Pakistan's mobile sector is fourth highest in the world)
7. Pakistan was the winner of the 2007 GSM industry association award
8. The US is importing UAVs designed and built in Pakistan to protect America's borders
9. With WLL (CDMA), WiMAX, GSM and FTTH, Pakistan is pretty much leading the pack in terms of diversity and breadth of connectivity
10. According to Gartner, Pakistan is a "first category" offshoring location; this ranking has grown by leaps and bounds
11. Pakistani companies won several awards at Asia's APICTA startup/innovation conference and were considered the most "interesting" and cutting edge in Asia 12. The world's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional is a Pakistani and so if the world's youngest Cisco CCNA professional
13. Pakistani students excelled in MIT's global software talent competition
14. Citations of Pakistani scientific publications are rising sharply
15. Over two dozen Pakistani scientists are working on the Large Hadron Collider; the grandest experiment in the history of Physics