Proud to be a Pakistani (Amazing Facts about Pakistan)

In the recent times due to rendezvous between political forces and media, an ugliest picture about my country has been portrayed in front of the world, a picture that holds no color or I am not wrong to say “It’s all black just black”. I’m the struggling to unveil the true picture that hold millions of colors, so bright and so shiny that can dazzle one’s eyes. If you are son of a soil, and you love your country as much as I do then you will help me fight against those who are painting your land as a black corner of this world. “Spread the truth as much as you can, fight for the right"

Pakistan meaning the “The land of pure” where each day the sun rises with a new hope, with an enduring majesty as the rays of light flushing down towards the snowcapped peaks of Himalaya’s and Nanga Parbat. A land where love finds a meaning in the heart warming hospitability of people, a land where history and ancient civilization mystifies one’s heart, a land where spiritualism unveils its mystery at the shrines of Sufi Saints. This is the land I belong to, this is the land I’ll die for and this is the land that defines my identity. The Invincible 167 Million : 6th largest Nation of the World.

World’s highest Polo ground at Shandur, Northern Pakistan.

Karakoram Highway : Eighth Wonder of the World

World’s Largest Deep Sea Port : Gwader

Khewra Mines : Second Largest Salt Mine in the World

Haleji Lake : Asia’s largest Bird Sanctuary

Thar Desert : One amongst the largest deserts in the World

The land of oldest Civilization : Indus Valley and Mohenjo-Daro

Pakistan: World's 9th Largest English Speaking Country

Pakistan: World 7th largest Pool of Scientists and Engineer

Pakistan: 7th largest Standing Arm Force in the World

Air force :Air Commodore MM ALAM has a world record of shooting down 5 Indian planes in less than a Minute

Pakistan : The Roof Top of the World

 Pakistan the land of grand mountain ranges, a land that holds 4 out of 14 most highest peaks in the world. K2 the second highest mountain in the world with all it’s grandeur symbolizing the pride and strength of the people of Pakistan.

Pakistan: K2 the 2nd highest mountain peak in the World

Pakistan: Nanga Parbat 9th Highest Peak in the World

Hunza is said to be a place ” Where Time Stops and Fairy Treads“, Kalash and Chitral are the natural wonders of the world where poetic verses find their inspirations from the beauty and elegance of high peak mountains, lush green fields and the fragrant breeze singing across the poplar trees. Some of the places which are not highlighted by the media but still due to their magnitude find their places on the World record books are ;
Aisa’s Highest Railway Station Kan Mehtarzai [2] that is located 2240 meters above sea level near Quetta.

Pakistan: Lalazar often termed as most beautiful place on earth

Back in Pakistan and loving it!

The second best decision I ever made in my life was to come back to Pakistan. The best decision I made was teaching in this country that has been labelled as the ‘most’ dangerous country in world.
Michael Kugelman, the program associate for South Asia at the  Woodrow Wilson Centre, recently wrote a blog for Dawn about the return of expats to Pakistan. He concluded the article with a question to expats about what it is like to be back.
This is a question posed to me almost on a daily basis by anyone I meet who discovers I have returned after having studied abroad.
I’m back because I am a Pakistani; I belong here and Pakistan has been great to me so far. After having lived abroad for six years, I don’t regret boarding the flight back to Pakistan for good.
While the good food and being amongst my own people feels fantastic, the best part of living in Pakistan is the amount of positive work one can do here. I didn’t want to be one of those expats living abroad who sat at the dinner table and argued about the pitiable state of Pakistan, their biggest fear being coming back.
As ambitious as it sounds, I wanted to be the one to go back and start working from bottom up. I wanted to connect with the people on ground, and understand what the root cause was for the problems faced by the locals, and perhaps help clear the mess, if there was any.
Teaching was one of the best ways to achieve all that, so I joined NUST and Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) where, of course, a month’s salary was equal to what my friends graduating from Cambridge were earning in a day!
However, an incident changed my entire perspective about the salary.
In the first month of teaching in Pakistan a student from Balochistan who studies at QAU approached me and requested if I could find him a job since he was now graduating with a Master’s degree. His next statement rattled me to the very core; it shook the ground beneath me.
He was willing to work for just Rs500 a month.
Can you imagine the desperation of this man and his family?
I realised I could no longer wait for decades to be well settled enough before I started making any real contributions to the country; the time to do ‘something’ was now – not a moment later.
QAU, where students come from all over Pakistan, has been an eye-opening experience for me. The Pakistan that most of the readers of The Express Tribune know is curtailed to Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad. What they don’t realise is that there is a Pakistan out there which is diverse, liberal, and intellectual. That is the real Pakistan that people in major cities are disconnected from – a Pakistan we Pakistani’s ourselves have failed to discover.
It’s been a whole year since I started teaching here, and I really don’t know if anybody is listening but what is important to me, is that I am bringing an alternate voice to the crowd. I’m no Messiah; neither have I got any ‘revolutionary’ ambitions; I’m just another brick in the wall, like many others, playing a part to build Pakistan.
In my previous blog, I mentioned how radically different my teaching methods were, and the sort of discussions I have in my classroom. I’d consider myself successful even if a handful of minds are able to look at the world from a difference perspective after attending my lectures.
Apart from teaching, a major chunk of my time is consumed by students, counselling them in higher education, job search, training them in research, hearing them out and understanding their basic requirements; basically in letting them know you care.
Before I started working, I was forewarned. I was told to be weary of what I said in my classrooms and to be cautious of attracting the attention of mullahs, the ISI, and the likes – since the society we live in is radicalised. Well, I’m proud to say, that having taught Islamic political philosophy at QAU, having critiqued the religion down to its bones, and bashing the army and the ISI, teaching at an Army university I have not once been harassed or been picked up by the agencies.
And there is a reason. The reason is that I don’t follow any political agenda in my classrooms, and the students over the course of the semester understood that. I remind them that everything I say in class is only a perspective; I don’t know the truth, and I don’t claim to know it either. I push them to do their own research. I give them a different view and challenge them to disprove it.
I have spoken to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), Jamaatud Dawa (JUD) and have interacted with people from the Army and exposed them to my views. I feel there is always a way to go about things. Pakistan has a culture and code of conduct in the society just like any other society in the world. One could do or say anything one wants, without fear of harm, as long as it is done in the right manner. Problems occur when people try to push their own agenda on to the society with complete disregard of any prevailing views.
There is a Pakistan that is shown on TV, and then there is the Pakistan where I feel an enormous amount of freedom – more freedom, at times, than I felt in the United States. I only wish more Pakistani’s from good schools could come back to Pakistan and start teaching.
Good teachers, make good nations.

30 Pakistani scientists make contribution

As many as 30 Pakistani scientists working at CERN made visible contribution in the research that has finally led to discover the Higgs boson, also nicknamed the “God particle” that travels faster than light.

According to the working mechanism, 15 Pakistani scientists used to work at the main laboratory in CERN, developed in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco-Swiss border in 1954, while remaining 15 were engaged in carrying out research work simultaneously in line with the directions given by a team of senior CERN scientists using 8 MV Pelletron Tandem accelerator facility based on sophisticated technology at National Centre for Physics (NCP).

NCP’s Director General, Hamid Saleem, told this correspondent that in all, 15 physicists, ten engineers and five lasers and opto-electronics experts contributed in the research that led to the discovery being widely considered as one of the greatest achievements in the field of science.

These scientists included Dr Hafiz Hoorani, Dr Jamila Bashir Butt, Hassan Shahzad, Taimoor Khursheed, Saleh Muhammad, Muhammad Ahmad, Wajid Ali Khan, Adilur Rehman Zafar, Ishtiaq Hussain, Waqar Ahmad, Shamoona Fawad Qazi, Imran Malik, Zia Aftab and Muhammad Shariq Khan.

He said a grid having 500 computers was set up in NCP and the Pakistani scientists have so far contributed in numerous ways including detector construction, simulation, physics analysis, grid computing, computational software development and manufacturing of mechanical equipment.

The data provided by NCP stated that Pakistan has made material contribution to the tune of 10 million dollars. It also signed an agreement with CERN that doubled the Pakistani contribution from one to two million Swiss francs. With this new agreement Pakistan started construction of the resistive plate chambers required for the CMS muon system. While more recently, a protocol has been signed enhancing Pakistan’s total contribution to 10 million dollar.

Hamid Saleem said the Pakistani scientists were also among those proud fellows who were wildly applauding the most ambitious experiment held at CERN with protons being fired in 27-km tunnel in an attempt to unlock the secrets of the universe.

He said they prepared CMS detector consisting of assembling and testing of 288 Resistive Plate Chambers, helped in fabrication of mechanical pieces at the cost much less than the European cost and designed tracker alignment and other opto-electronic related work.

It is also pertinent to mention here that CERN has given best supplier award to Heavy Mechanical Complex in recognition of its services in providing necessary equipment in the preparatory phases of the experiment.

Hamid Saleem said NCP is offering basic facilities to conduct research in various fields including centrifuge, accelerator, fission and fusion, coating and metallization, medical and pharmaceutical, semi-conductor, solar, live stock, plasma sterilization, food processing and packaging.

Pakistan's Oscar winning film to be screened in India

Pakistan's lone filmmaker to win an Oscar Aqward recently, Sharmeen Obaid is really happy! Ask her the reason, and she clarifies: "The monsoons have not quite hit Pakistan yet, so most of us are still sweltering in the summer heat! But, I am really not bothered about these heat blues! As more countries continue to screen Saving Face, our launch in India takes place next week. If you happen to be in Delhi or Mumbai please reach out to the Asia Society: Saving Face screens on the 23rd and the 24th in those two cities! It's a great occasion for me!"

Pakistan bags silver medal

LAHORE, July 16: A Pakistani student won silver medal at the international mathematical Olympiad which continued for about two weeks at an Argentinean town, Mar del Plata, and concluded on Monday.
He is Syed Waqar Ali Shah, an A-level student of Pak-Turk International School, Karachi, who competed with about 550 students from 96 countries of the world.
Pakistan had sent a batch of five students to participate in the international Olympiad held every year. They were selected from thousands of students who had participated in national mathematical Olmpiad held in October last and national science talent contest of HEC. Among them 75 students getting top positions were selected who were given two-week training at Lahore.
Further tests were held selecting 40 followed by 20 and 10 and five at the last test.
It was after such a hard series of tests they were selected for the international contest. The HEC would honour the remaining four students with special awards on their return. They are: Usama Zaid Malik of Elite International School, Islamabad, Azlan Shaukat of Sadiq Public School, Bahawalpur, Ms Huma Sibghat of Hamza Army Public School/College, Rawalpindi, and Dilsher Ahmad of International School of Choueifat, Faisal Town, Lahore. The team was led by Prof Dr Barbu Berceanu, a foreign faculty member of Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences of GCU, Lahore and Dr Ahmad Mahmood Qureshi of FCC University, Lahore.
ASSMA Director-General Dr A.D. Raza Chaudhry, coordinator for training of the national team, said in a statement here on Monday that this year the international contests were extremely hard and tough at all stages including the grand jury. “It is, indeed, a great achievement of a Pakistani student to win silver medal competing hundreds of students from 96 countries. The nation must be proud of the achievement,” he added.
He congratulated Syed Waqar Ali Shah’s teachers, especially his coaches, Dr Babu Berceanu and Dr Mircea Becheanu. He said this international victory had proved that Pakistani students had great talent and could also win gold medal in future. They needed expert coaching and training in mathematics. He said HEC and GCU, Lahore, had commendable efforts to raise the standard of science education, particularly mathematical science by providing the best international faculty to Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences.

Pakistani cadet wins prestigious ‘Sword of Honour’ at Sandhurst

CAMBERLEY: A young Pakistani cadet won the prestigious “Sword of Honour” for overseas cadets at the annual Sovereign’s Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst here.Officer Cadet Muhammad Talha Zahid from Pakistan Army attended the academy during 2011/12 along with cadets from well over 30 countries.
“I am the 5th Pakistani cadet to have achieved this honour since Pakistan Military Academy started sending its graduates here. I am thankful to my trainers and my family for all the encouragement they have provided. I am honoured that I was able to win this for Pakistan,” he told Geo News in an interview.

Not only this, Talha Zahid also became the first ever cadet here for a single year to have also won awards in the categories of The Best Student (Best in Over all Academics), the Best in Defence Studies and the Best in International Affairs Studies.

The second Pakistani Officer Cadet was Waleed Bashir whose Regiment was declared the best. He told Geo News: “I am honoured that I was able to attend the prestigious Sandhurst Academy. The experience was brilliant and we were able to meet cadets from all over the world. Every cadet seemed very impressed with the professionalism Pakistan army exhibits. Pakistan’s recognition this year is testimony to the fact that Pakistan Army is one of the best armies in the world.”

His Royal Highness Filed Marshal the Duke of Kent, who was the chief guest for the annual parade said Talha excelled in every area of the training and proved that he was the best cadet for the honour. Addressing more than 300 cadets, the Duke of Kent told the young cadets that soon they will join duty at the front line, including in trouble spots such as Afghanistan, and they are always expected of delivering the best professional service. He told the cadets that their success was only a one stage forward to becoming effective officers and testing conditions awaited them. He said the course at the Sandhurst was deliberately designed to bring out the best amongst the cadets.

Wajid Shamsul Hasan, High Commissioner of Pakistan and Colonel Omer Ahmed Bokhari, Army and Air Adviser attended the commissioning ceremony.Wajid Shamsul Hasan commented: “The commissioned officer has shown how Pakistan has a premium army which is becoming ever more renowned for its high professional caliber and the ethos that it teaches to the young cadets like the ones who have made their country proud here today.”

Waleed Bashir’s parents travelled from Bagh Azad Kashmir especially for this occasion. “We are overjoyed that Pakistan has won the Sword of Honour this year,” they said.

Oscar-winning Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker inspired by Canada

Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy says her work is inspired by Canada's stance on many human rights issues.

The Pakistani-born journalist, who became a Canadian citizen after moving to Toronto in 2004, won the Academy Award for best documentary short.

The dual citizen was recognized for her film Saving Face, billed as the first from Pakistan to win an Oscar.

It follows the struggles of women who have been disfigured by acid attacks, usually inflicted by husbands or relatives.

Obaid-Chinoy was born and raised in Karachi but married a Canadian citizen and now splits her time between Toronto and her various filming locales.

At Sunday's Oscar ceremony, the producer took the stage with director Daniel Junge to dedicate the award "to all the women in Pakistan who are working for change."

Reached Monday in Los Angeles, Obaid-Chinoy described the win as "stunning, overwhelming, unbelievable."

"And of course, very gratifying," said Obaid-Chinoy, whose husband was also born in Pakistan but moved to Canada after studying in the United States.

"We had been getting favourable feedback from people who had gone to see the film ... but the other films that we were competing against were also tremendous films with filmmakers who had been nominated for the Academy Award before. We thought that we had a chance but certainly we didn't think we were the front-runners."

The 40-minute Saving Face follows several women who have been disfigured by acid violence and chronicles the efforts of a doctor to reconstruct their faces and restore their dignity. It airs March 8 on HBO Canada.

"I'm inspired by the stance that Canada takes on many human rights situations," Obaid-Chinoy said of the influence she's felt from her adopted homeland.

"I've been able to meet some wonderful people in Canada and ... I have a community of filmmakers that I work with in Canada often — editors and cameramen and the film community is very supportive."

During her acceptance speech at the Oscar bash, Obaid-Chinoy dedicated her win to the women of Pakistan.

"Don't give up on your dreams. This is for you," said Obaid-Chinoy, also an Emmy award-winning film producer and journalist.

Backstage, she noted that Pakistan had a vibrant film industry in the '50s and '60s but that things have since changed.

"And now my generation, there are a number of filmmakers ... trying to revive that, but it's few and far between," she said in a transcript provided by the academy.

"And I hope that this will be an impetus to getting a more flourishing film industry in Pakistan."

Obaid-Chinoy said Hollywood's star-packed bash provided a startling brush with fame after she claimed the gold statue. She said the first two people she ran into backstage were A-listers Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

"And because Angelina has a connection to Pakistan, because she's been there, it was really nice to chat with her about that and give her a copy of our film," said Obaid-Chinoy.

Pakistani girl tops Biology exam at Cambridge exam

Zoha Abdullah Malik got 1st Position in BIOLOGY all over the world in O'LEVEL exam

 University of Cambridge International Exams results

250 students to receive Cambridge awards
Islamabad, Jan 31: As many as 250 students would receive awards for exceptional performance in the University of Cambridge International Examinations, including 53 who achieved highest marks in the world and 48 who attained the highest marks in Pakistan in a single subject.

The University of Cambridge International Examinations has announced the winners of the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards, Pakistan. The awards celebrate the outstanding academic achievements of secondary school learners in Pakistan in the June 2010 Cambridge Examination Session.

Additionally, learners who have achieved top results for Cambridge ‘O’ Level Statistics, which is taken during the November examination session, will be recognised for their achievements. Many schools would be hosting individual awards ceremonies to celebrate achievements of their students.

According to the information, learners who have achieved the total highest cumulative marks across a number of subjects will also be recognised for their success. The winning learners outperformed thousands of candidates worldwide who sat examinations in Cambridge ‘O’ Level, Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International ‘AS’ and A ‘Level’ subjects so it is a tremendous achievement.

These outstanding results are recognised by employers and universities around the world as proof of academic excellence.

Cambridge’s Regional Manager for Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan William Bickerdike in his statement said, “I am very proud to congratulate learners across the country on their outstanding results in the Cambridge examinations. The results are a reflection of the enormous talent in Pakistan, not only amongst the learners but also within the teaching profession,” he said.

He said that a great deal of hard work and dedication from the learners, as well as support from their schools and families are behind these awards. “Cambridge qualifications develop independent learners, and prepare young people for success in their further studies and beyond. These learners have a bright future ahead of them, and I wish them well,” he added.

Urwat Til Vusqa and Haran Bhatti from Beaconhouse Public School System, Islamabad, topped in the world in Cambridge ‘O’ Level Examinations in the subjects of Mathematics and Religious Studies respectively. Sana Munir from the Roots Montessori and High School topped in the world in Cambridge ‘IGCSE’ in the subject of Pakistan Studies. Tanvah Hameed from Beaconhouse School System topped in the world in Cambridge International ‘A’ Level examinations in the subject of Psychology.

In Karachi Cambridge ‘O’ level examinations, as many as 15 students topped in the world in different subjects. The students who managed to bag top positions included the names of Aeman Muneeb (Additional Mathematics) from Beaconhouse School System-Jubilee Campus, Muhammad Saad Hussain (Additional Mathematics) from Beaconhouse School System-Defence Campus, Rehan Elahi (Additional Mathematics) from Karachi Grammar School, Swaleha Khalid Petiwala (Additional Mathematics) from St Michael’s Convent School, Syed Muhammad Abdullah Zehravi (Additional Mathematics) from Happy Home Secondary School, Usman Beg (Additional Mathematics) from St Michael’s Convent School, Zohaib Husain (Additional Mathematics) from Karachi Grammar School.

Besides that Ansab Wazir Ali Chopsi (Economics) from Beaconhouse School System-Jubilee Campus, Areeba Ambreen Tariq (English Language) from Foundation Public School, Suha Gillani (English Literature) from Karachi Grammar School, Aeman Muneeb ( Mathematics) from Beaconhouse School System-Jubilee Campus, Ansharah Riaz (Mathematics) from The Mama Parsi Girls’ Secondary School, Azzah Maryum Hyder (Mathematics) from Karachi Grammar School, Meiryum Muhammad Ali (Mathematics) from Karachi Grammar School and Annum Aftab (Principles of Accounts) from St. Patrick Girls’ High School topped in the world. Besides that Abdul Rafey Siddiqui (Statistics) from St Patrick High School has also topped in the world in November 2010 examination session.

Alizeh Tariq Paracha (History) from Karachi Grammar School topped in the world in Cambridge International ‘AS’ level, Tabish Jaleel Sheikh (Business Studies) from Karachi Grammar School, Arwa Snees Rangoonwala (Economics) from Karachi Grammar School and Nasir Altaf (Economics) from Karachi Grammar School topped in the world in Cambridge International ‘A’ level June 2010 examination session.

In Lahore Cambridge level June 2010 examination session, in the subject of Additional Mathematics Hamid Ali from Lahore Grammar School, Irtiza Sohail Butt from Aitchison, Lahore, Muhammad Saif-ur-Rehman from Lahore Grammar School, Mustafa Khalid from Lahore Grammar School, Saba Rahid from Lahore Grammar School bag top position.

Suhail Idrees (Biology) from Lahore Grammar School, Suhail Idrees (Business Studies) from Lahore Grammar School, Asif Yasir (Chemistry) from Ibne Sina College, Syed Muhammad Mashhood Ali Bokhari (Combined Science) from Bloomfield Hall, Umar Farooq Bhatti (Combined Science) from British Council, Muhammad Daniyal (Commerce) from Hamdard Public School, Noorzadeh Salman Raja (English Language) from Lahore Grammar School, Osama Sajid (Geography) from Lahore Grammar School topped in the world.

In Mathematics Syllabus D, Hassan Saeed from Crescent Model Higher Secondary School, Junaid Saleem from Sharif Educational Complex, Khizer Hussain from Lahore Grammar School, Mehwish Akhlaq from Beaconhouse Faisalabad Chapter, Misha Nasir Jamy from Lahore Grammar School, Mohammad Saif-ur-Rehman from Lahore Grammar School, Reesha Arshad from St Peter’s High School, Suhail Idrees from Lahore Grammar School and Syed Zaman Sajjad from Beaconhouse-Defence, Lahore, have topped in the world.

Besides that Suhail Idrees (Physics) from Lahore Grammar School, Fatima Kanwal (Second Language Urdu) from Lahore Learning Campus, Hashim Bukhari (Second Language Urdu) from Resource Academia, Muhammad Haisum Maqsood (Second Language Urdu) from Divisional Model College, Faisalabad, and Noor ul Ain (Second Language Urdu) from Divisional Model College, Faisalabad, topped in the world.

In Cambridge International ‘A’ level June 2010 examination session, Sana Waheed (Biology) from Engro Grammar School, Daharki, Rooshanie Nadia Ejaz (Geaography) from British Council, Lahore, Ahmad Sajjad Cheema (History) from British Council, Lahore, Ghazal Noor Amar (Law) from Beaconhouse Defence, Lahore, Shaiza Ahmed (Sociology) from Lahore Grammar School, Talha Bin Mohsin (Thinking Skills) from Lahore Grammar School, Abdul Sammad Nasir (Mathematics) from Lahore Grammar School, Sana Waheed (Mathematics) from Engro Grammar School, Daharki, topped in the world.