Guest Post by Naveed E.

Perveen Shakir died young. Her legend lives on.

She is arguably the most popular poetess of the literary history of Pakistan. She expressed the sensibilities of young lovelorn girl with the innocence of a girl next door and innovation of an adept poet. Her romantic poems and ghazals stirred the sentiments of youthful readers.

She enlivened the tales and traditions of love in a manner that her first book “Khushbooà¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚? met an instant and incredible success. Within a span of seventeen years she wrote three more books of poetry, titled, “Sud Bergâ€Â?, “Khud Kalamieâ€Â? and “Inkarâà ¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚?.

“Barish Ki Nazmein� are very sentimental poems from “Sud Berg�.

On a rainy night, while posted in a far flung area of Pakistan, I was deeply touched with the enchantment of these poems.

Adil Najam

Like many others, I have been following with great concern the rapid spread of Dengue Fever in Pakistan and across the region.

In India, for example, the death toll from Dengue is now up to 144 and the number of afflicted at more than 8180 (here). In Pakistan, at least 25 deaths have been reported and the death rate from Dengue is significantly more than elsewhere (here). The population is now, rightly, very worried. As many as 1800 cases have been confirmed and far more are expected (here):

According to the statistics of National Institute of Health, blood samples of 89 suspected Dengue Fever patients have been received, out of which 39 cases have been diagnosed positive. In Islamabad, 21 out of 61 suspected Dengue Fever cases found positive. Thus, the number of Dengue Fever patients in the twin cities is 60…. A report from Lahore says that the management of Sheikh Zaid hospital has been tight-lipped on deaths of two dengue fever patients in the hospital whereas four more patients infected by dengue virus have been detected… According to another report, following Karachi, Sindh interior, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, dengue fever seemed to have entered the NWFP province also, as the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed the death of a child, 7 with all the symptoms of suffering from the dengue fever… The ministry [of Health] said that the dengue in Sindh has taken the toll of 27 lives and 78 dengue patients have been admitted into the different hospitals in Karachi during the last 24 hours, while in the same period 92 patients were discharged from the hospitals in Karachi and Sindh after the recovery from dengue fever.

This is obviously serious and has the potential to exacerbate other health challenges and is putting further strain on an already inadequate health infrastructure.

Adil Najam

The Daily Jang (28 October, 2006) has a special supplement of former President Ghulam Ishaq Khan’s (GIK) death which has some interesting commentary in it and also some memorable photographs that reflect the role he played in carving Pakistan’s history. It makes for some interesting reading and viewing.

My particular favorite is the set of headlines from three critical moments GIK’s- and Pakistan’s – life story (click on image, or here, for larger picture).

The following three pictures are also fascinating documentations of where we (and GIK) have been and are thought-provoking: