Pakistani student tops international LLB exam

A Pakistani student came out on top at the University of London LLB examinations, scoring the highest aggregate marks this year.

“We have nine first class awards this year. In terms of countries, Malaysia and Pakistan are joint equal; each have three firsts. In terms of individual students, Pakistan comes top, Ikra Saleem Khan has the highest aggregate marks this year,” the University of London said in its website. The university offers distance learning opportunity to students from many countries around the world.

Ikra Saleem Khan, a student of University College Lahore, attributes her success to “persistence, hard work and dedication” and those “whose tireless efforts helped me on my journey”, particularly her teachers.

Further, two other Pakistani students, Rubab Tariq Khan and Muhammad Kazim, also earned a first class degree, becoming two of nine students from around the globe to earn a first this year.

Rubab, who studied at Pakistan College of Law, describes studying the LLB degree as “a roller coaster ride” and herself as “a product of the hard work of all my well-wishers” including the prayers of her parents. She is already busy working at a law firm and has been offered a teaching position with Pakistan College of Law for the module of International Protection of Human Rights.

Pakistan's Rubab Tariq Khan gained an LLB with a First. She shares her journey to success. https://t.co/cx138pjeCe pic.twitter.com/KkqLlOy3b0

— University of London (@LondonU) August 6, 2016

Kazim, also from Lahore, studied at The Institute of Legal Studies and credits his success to hard work and offers this advice, “[T]here are two types of people: intelligent and hardworking. But in my experience, hard work can triumph over intelligence any day.” He is the only male student to achieve a first this year.

Malaysia and Pakistan are joint equal as each have three firsts. Students from Jamaica and Sri Lanka are also among those nine high achievers.

-Express Tribune

Manwa Sisters: Pakistan's first female qawwal group to release debut song

They may have formally launched their group just a while ago, but the sisters have been singing together ever since they were young. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE: Claiming to be the first group of female singers to take up qawwali as a profession, Manwa Sisters are set to release their first video song Allah Janey.

Comprising Saba, Fauzia and Zille Huma, the band has been moving from strength to strength ever since its arrival in Lahore. Hailing from Faisalabad, the sisters belong to the qawwali singing family of Kerala gharana that has produced numerous renowned musicians in the past.

Apart from qawwali, the sisters are also into film music and frequently perform popular numbers of their idols Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Noor Jahan. Allah Janey is their first attempt to put out an original song.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the group’s front woman Saba said their family has had a long association with the trade. “Indian superstar Dilip Kumar would frequently invite our grand uncle Rasheed Faridi at his place to listen to him. After our grandfather’s death, no one was interested in continuing with music.” Perhaps this is what spurred the girls into action.

When asked why they named the group Manwa, Saba laughed, saying, “We chose the word Manwa because that (literal meaning of the word in Urdu) is what we want to do. We want to get our talents recognised.”

They may have formally launched their group a while ago,  but the sisters have been singing together ever since they were quite young. “We have been singing at family events and private functions for a while. It wasn’t until three years ago that we finally decided to start our group and take music up as a profession,” she added.

Honing their skills under the tutelage of many masters of Indian classical music and qawwali ever since, the girls decided that in order to advance their careers, they will have to move out of Faisalabad. “We thought moving to Lahore would be a great idea. We will get to perform at bigger events and find more career opportunities,” Saba said. For the past 12 odd months, the sisters have been residing in the provincial capital.

Dilip Kumar would frequently invite Manwa sisters’ grand uncle Rasheed Faridi at his place to listen to him

Making ends meet

During their many TV and stage appearances, the girls performed Lollywood hits and even folk and semi-classical tunes. However, they feel their forte lies in qawwali. “We have tried to adopt the qawwali style because it comes very naturally to us. It is in our blood,” Saba said.

Zilla Huma pitched in by saying that they are aware of the trends in the music industry. “Besides qawwali, we also sing light stuff and will continue to release such singles in the future,” she added.

Leading a proper qawwal party is no easy task. For industry amateurs, it is quite a challenge from a financial standpoint. “At the moment we are not making a lot of money so we cannot run a whole party and hire all the musicians. How will we pay them?” asked Saba.

For now, the Manwas have decided to stick to keeping the band small. Meanwhile, they are still working on their vocals with a training programme at Alhamra. In order to keep the stove burning and afford the challenging career that they have taken up, the sisters also give private tuitions to schoolchildren in their locality. “All three of us completed our graduate degrees while in Faisalabad. Things are expensive here in Lahore so tuitions just help with that,” Saba said.

Once they establish themselves in the city’s entertainment circuit, these girls want to be known solely for their qawwali singing. When asked if the three ever have any disagreements over who will lead or who will sing a particular part, Saba said, “Not at all. There’s unity among us. In fact, we find it difficult to sing with anyone else, such is our understanding.” The sisters have already been approached by numerous artists to join their bands. “For now we want to stick with our own group. In the future we might consider collaborations.”

Family first

Often referred to as the Manchester of Pakistan, thanks to its industrial estates, Faisalabad was introduced to the world by its prodigal son Nusrat Fateh. Nusrat’s name was taken forward by his bright nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. While the city is famous for its qawwals and the many families associated with music that still live there, Saba said getting help is not easy. “No gharana is willing to help us. They don’t want to teach anyone,” she said.

On the other hand, their gender, too, is a problem. “Girls, in the past, haven’t normally ventured into qawwali singing and we hardly come across a proper female qawwal in the Indian subcontinent,” said  Zille Huma. “The challenges are there but we are committed. We have been doing it for three years now and have been appreciated for our work. Wherever we go, we get a very heartening response.”

-Express Tribune

Scholar wins innovation prize in Sweden for doing what Pakistanis do best

Governor of Gävleborg County, Per Bill presenting SKAPA Development Prize 2016 to Usman Haider at a ceremony held at Gävle Castle, Sweden PHOTO: Embassy of Pakistan, Berlin

Say what you want about Pakistanis, we do know how to take care of our elders. It comes as no surprise, then, that a Pakistani PhD scholar has been internationally recognised for making a device which aims to help keep the elderly independent and active for as long as possible and reduce their reliance on care workers and care homes.

Usman Haider has been awarded a prestigious invention and innovation award, SKAPA Development Prize 2016, in Sweden for his device called PhaseX Hip exoskeleton.

“Usman Haider, a PhD scholar from Pakistan has been awarded the most well-known invention and innovation prize in Sweden, SKAPA Development Prize 2016 for his product, Exo-Skeleton, a helping device for the elderly and persons with less mobility,” Embassy of Pakistan in Berlin said in a Facebook post.

The 32-year-old, who is currently based in Sweden, was presented a cash prize of 15,000 Swedish Krona by Governor of Gävleborg County, Per Bill on May 25 at a ceremony held at Gävle Castle, Sweden. Haider won the award from his region Gävleborg County. In November this year a national winner would be chosen from regional winners and the winner would be awarded 550,000 SEK.

“Our project is aimed to develop assistive non-medical lower body exoskeletons for elderly persons to help them perform daily living activities such as walking, standing, which we use in everyday life such as cooking, shopping, using the toilet, etc,” Haider said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

This is the first time that an exoskeleton product has been tested as a non-medical assistive device anywhere in the world with ethical approval from the Ethical Board, Haider shares. Further, the product is not limited to elderly persons and can be used by healthy adults as it can provide them assistance in doing similar activities and they can be less exhaustive by the end of the day.

Explaining the product, the young researcher said the technology works by using normal sensors which can detect intentions of the person to move. “We developed lower-body assistive non-medical exoskeleton which assists at hip, knee and ankle joints and is worn by the user. Extra power or energy is provided by the exoskeleton to user to perform these activities. We researched and investigated to develop a low cost non-medical solution such that it is easily available from normal shops and is affordable by wide range of people.”

The SKAPA Development Award was initiated in 1986 in memory of the famous inventor Alfred Nobel to provide assistance to inventors and innovators so they can transform their products/services to commercial opportunities.

Haider has been working as a researcher in University of Gävle on various European Union funded projects. He is also an off-site PhD student in University of Polytechnic Cartagena, Spain as well as CEO of PhaseX AB which he founded in 2015 with two other partners.

Explaining their decision to award Haider, the SKAPA award jury said his product has an ever-increasing demand, “With world class technology and ability to combine it in an innovative way has led to a revolutionary assistive aid. Making it easier for disabled persons to fend for themselves, it has an increasing demand and a rapidly growing market.”

“The product has a global potential and has already attracted international interest and put the company and the city of Gävle on the global map,” the jury added.

Haider is planning to launch the product in Sweden by end of this year or early next year and later expand to EU and beyond. He has already received a 700000 SEK investment.

Here are a few videos from their end user trials in the project EXO-LEGS.

-Express Tribune

Bioniks provides 'Iron Man' arm to Pakistani child

Imagine being forced to make do with just one hand. Now imagine living with a partially developed arm from the perspective of a five-year-old and the psychological trauma that accompanies it. Mir Bayyaan Baloch was one such kid, born with a partially developed arm. Now, with the help from engineers at Bioniks, Bayyaan has the distinction of being the first child in Pakistan to receive a 3D printed prosthetic arm.

Bioniks, situated at the NED University of Engineering and Technology, is a subsidiary of Viscous.co, a 3D Printing Equipment & services provider and authorised representative of Xplorer 3D Printers in Pakistan. The concern is the only firm producing 3D printed prosthetics in the country.

“There’s a story behind everything. When we were contacted by his father, his story moved us and we decided to help him,” Anas Niaz, a mechatronics engineer who has been heading Bioniks, said. We tried to replicate his normal arm but with a “super hero” touch, Niaz said. On why they tried to create such a limb for the child, he said, “When he first came to us, we asked him about his favourite super hero and he told us it was Iron Man. So we tried to create something similar,” he said.

On how long it took to create a 3D printed prosthetic arm, Niaz said it hardly took between two to three days to print the arm; it was the measurement that tended to be time consuming. “It has to be of precise measurement so it matches the other arm.” Sharing how excited Bayyaan was to get his ‘super hero’ arm, he said the first model they made was not perfect, so they decided to create it again. But the child was so excited that he took part of the model and placed it on his arm. Explaining how the arm worked, Ovais Qureshi—who heads Bioniks along with Niaz—said Bayyaan could move his fingers with the help of his elbow movement and hold things.

However, the arm is not built for lifting heavy things. The 3D printed arm is quite light in comparison to other prosthetics. It has been designed in such a way that it weighs less than one kilogramme, Niaz said, adding that it was hollow from inside. This, he said, made it lighter and easier for children to wear.

“The next model we are creating will be a motorised one. The arm that Bayyaan got was a manual one but the newer model will be equipped with a motor to help the wearer lift heavy objects,” Niaz revealed.

“You can create anything with the help of 3D printing, all you need is inspiration,” Qureshi said. For now, Bayyaan is happy with his “super hero arm” that even shoots a light beam like his favourite Iron Man. But he’ll need a new arm in a year or two as he grows, he said.

Since Bayyaan’s case came into the limelight, Bioniks has been inundated with requests. “We have received two requests each from Nawabshah and Karachi. We even received one from Bahrain,” Qureshi said. He said Bioniks had already started working on them.

Bioniks has been planning to provide five individuals with 3D printed prosthetics in September.

Bioniks said they are grateful to NED and its Vice Chancellor Dr Afzal Haque for providing a peaceful environment on campus to work and having faith in them.

-Express Tribune

This girl's powerful message about India, Pakistan will move you to tears

People on both sides of the India, Pakistan border have spent 68 years hating each other. Is it any wonder then that they blame each other for any political wrongdoing?

People are arrested in Pakistan for supporting an Indian cricketer. A Muslim man in India was stripped and beaten publicly for accompanying a Hindu girl. But who is to blame for all these instances?

An Indian girl whose father, a soldier, was killed in the Kargil war between the two arch-rivals, recently uploaded a video on social media, telling the world how she hated all Pakistanis and Muslims, only to realise that Pakistanis did not kill her father – but war did. Her powerful message will move you to tears.

“My father died in the 1999 Kargil war,” she says in the video.

“I remember how much I used to hate Pakistan and Pakistanis because they killed my dad,” she adds.

The young girl and a soldier, now fight for peace between Pakistan and India. “If France and Germany can be friends after two world wars, why can’t we?”

Watch the video here:


-Express Tribune

Pakistani activist wins Nelson Mandela award 2016

Pakistani activist Tabassum Adnan won the prestigious Nelson Mandela – Graça Machel Innovation Award 2016 on Thursday.

The winners of the 2016 Innovation Awards were publicly announced at Ceremony held on 28 April, as part of International Civil Society Week (ICSW), which was hosted by CIVICUS, in collaboration with the Confederación Colombiana de ONG from 25 to 28 April, 2016, in Bogotá, Colombia.

In 2015, Tabassum Adnan, founder of NGO Khwendo Jirga, or Sister’s Council, a women-only jirga was awarded the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award in recognition of her services of women’s rights.

A victim of child marriage, Adnan was married when she was 13-years-old. After suffering 20 years of physical and mental abuse, Adnan divorced her husband, which made her lose her children, home, and money.

PHOTO: TABASSUM ADNAN/FACEBOOK

Later she started the NGO, Khwendo Jirga, a first of its kind women-only jirga, where women meet weekly to discuss issues such as honour killings, acid attacks, and swara, or giving women as compensation for crimes.

PHOTO: Tabassum Adnan/FACEBOOK

The jirga brought awareness to women’s security, their right to vote and offers free legal help to victims of violence.

-Express Tribune

This tragic India-Pakistan love story will move you to tears

PHOTO: Mansi Thapliyal VIA BBC

The Pakistan-India conflict has not been kind on the families torn apart after the partition in 1947. Over the decades, many tragic love stories have come to the fore with several having ended in sorrow.

One such tale of love and loss is recounted by Mohammad Javed, an Indian man who fell in love with a Pakistani girl, and suffered torture at the hands of Indian authorities along with spending eleven and a half years in jail branded as a terrorist.

It was love at first sight for both Javed and Mobina when they met in Karachi in 1999. Javed, who is from Rampur in northern India, had taken his mother to Pakistan to visit her family who had migrated to the country after the partition in 1947.

“Within a month of our meeting, we expressed our love for each other,” Javed told BBC two years after he was cleared of all charges.

Javed fell in love with Mobina (second from right) at first sight PHOTO: Mansi Thapliyal VIA BBC

Javed spent three-and a half months in Karachi during which the couple confessed their love for each other. “We were at a family wedding where there were other young women and I think she felt insecure. She took me aside and told me that I was not to look at any other girl since she was in love with me. I told her I felt the same way,” Javed shared.

Javed, now 33, recalls how they would meet each other clandestinely in Karachi’s Safari Park. “She would leave home in the morning telling her family that she was going to college. I would meet her outside the college gate, and we would go and hang out in Sipari Park.”

He returned to India and spent all his salary working as a television mechanic on speaking with Mobina, or Gudiya (doll), spending INR62 a minute to speak to her via a telephone booth.

He returned to Pakistan a year later and stayed for two months. The couple’s family was now aware of their feelings for each other and they had no objections to their marriage. However, there was one problem. Mobina’s family wanted Javed to move to Pakistan, whereas Javed’s wanted the opposite.

Javed still carries one of Mobina’s letters with him PHOTO: Mansi Thapliyal VIA BBC

This time when he left for India, he was not to know that he would never be coming back. “This time as I prepared to leave, she said, ‘You go, I will convince my family and then you come back and take me with you.’ I didn’t know that when I left, I would never return. That I would never see her again,” he said, wistfully.

The two kept writing to each other over the next two years, with Javed enlisting the help of his friends as his Urdu was not up to par.

And then one day, something happened that changed the course of their lives forever.

“I still remember the day very clearly,” said Javed. “It was August 10, 2002. It was a Saturday. I was in my shop when a man came and asked me to go with him and fix his television. I told him I didn’t do house calls, but he seemed quite distraught, so I agreed.”

One the way, a car pulled up and Javed was abducted. Although, he initially thought they were criminals, it soon dawned on him that they were members of Indian police. “Then I overheard them talking and I could understand that they were from the police”.

Javed spent eleven and a half years in prison PHOTO: Mansi Thapliyal VIA BBC

Hence began Javed’s ordeal. “They beat me black and blue, hung me upside-down and kept lowering my head into a tub of water. It was so painful. I couldn’t bear it any longer. I begged them to kill me,” he recalled how he was tortured for three days.

Javed was accused of being “an agent” for Pakistan’s ISI intelligence agency, and his tormenters claimed he had been passing on secrets about the ministry of external affairs and defence ministry to Islamabad.

His friends were also arrested and they were all charged under India’s controversial special anti-terror law, The Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) for being “dreaded terrorists” who were “waging war against India”.

“This meant we couldn’t get bail. We were so demoralised. We were told if we were convicted, we could get the death penalty,” Javed said.

Javed says he has no idea why he was singled out. “But in jail, people said it was because of the Kargil conflict and that any Muslim who had travelled to Pakistan soon after the fighting was a suspect.”

A spokesperson for the campaign group Rihai Manch told the BBC that there are dozens of young Muslim men like Javed who have been held in prisons across India on trumped-up charges.

It was the memory of his love that kept him sane during the long years in jail, shares Javed, when even his friends turned away from him. They accused him of giving their names to the police.

“I used to tell my fellow prisoners about Mobina, how we fell in love, her habits, how she would tease me when I visited her. This made my time in prison more bearable and helped me keep her memory alive.”

His long stay in jail also took a toll on his parents. His mother blamed herself for his wrongful confinement and his father sold his land and family jewelry, accumulating debts on his way to fight his case.

Today, he’s trying to rebuild his life PHOTO: Mansi Thapliyal VIA BBC

Javed was finally released from jail on January 19, 2014 when a court threw all charges against him after eleven and a half years. “When I walked out of jail, for a while it was difficult to believe that I was really free,” he says, adding, “but one-third of my life, which was the most important time of my life, my entire 20s, was taken away from me.”

Javed has since been trying to rebuild his life. He’s taken a shop close to his house where he repairs old TV sets. He’s not in touch with Mobina because he fears she may be married now.

“I have managed to expel her from my head, but not from my heart. I still love her, but I’m afraid to call her. What happens if they go after me or my family again?”

This article originally appeared on BBC