Sunday 29 December 2013

Thursday 26 December 2013

Top UK Surgeons to Treat Patients for Free in AJK





London (December 2013): A team of around two-dozen senior doctors and surgeons from the UK will travel to the remote areas of Azad Kashmir in March next year to treat poor children and families for free. The visit is being organized by a UK based welfare charity, working in Azad Kashmir for over 21 years, as part of its 1000 Smiles4Kashmir programme. At a seminar in the House of Lords, the project coordinator Dr Adeel Iqbal announced that the delegation would stay in Azad Kashmir for two weeks and will administer treatment to at least 160 patients with complex surgical conditions, besides carrying a large quantity of medicines from the UK.

The seminar was hosted by Lord Eric Avebury, who has had a long interest in Kashmir and Pakistan, Lord Qurban Hussain, Ishfaq Ahmed, Professor Alan Fenwick from Imperial College, Professor Elio Riboli from Global Health London, Professor Majeed, Chair of Primary Care, Dr BK Sinha, Dr Charles Viva (Head of Interplast UK), Dr Mark Smith (Consultant Anaesthetist at The Royal Brompton Hospital), Alison Stutt (Head of International Development, Barts andLondon Hospital) and Dr Athar Khatib, a world renowned Consultant Ophthalmologist.

Dr Adeel Iqbal, who was born in Britain but his parents hail from Mangla in Azad Kashmir, said the recruitment for the project in March 2014, is actively underway and nurses, doctors, surgeons, anesthetists, logisticians and volunteers are being recruited. He told The News: “This will be the start of the biggest ever medical delegation that will travel to Azad Kashmir. There is so much poverty in parts of Azad Kashmir that some patients find it hard to travel to the central hospital where we are conducting our operations; therefore we will send doctors into these areas to carry out pre-operatives assessments to help triage patients. We need to use our resources and connections to help people in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir by providing them with a healthy lifestyle.”

He went on: “These efforts are in need of amplification and assimilation in other parts of the region to not only treat patients but train local surgeons to deal with complex pathology natively. I am delighted that medical students and doctors from the region want to send their students to learn from these delegations.” Ishfaq Ahmed, who heads the charity and is overseeing the initiative, said he is pleased with the progress being made but more needs to be done to serve the needs of the people of Kashmir and Pakistan. “I will be flying out to the region soon to increase the campaign to register patients from Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.

We will also be launching the micro-credit project which will allow widowed women to start businesses to help sustain their families.” Consultant Surgeon Dr Charles Viva, who has already flown to the region twice in the last two years, commented that he has been very impressed with the staff at the Community Hospital in Jatlan, Mirpur, where he has been performing the operations. “I have seen extreme levels of sickness in the region. It’s unbelievable that while there is so much focus on the African countries and the plight of people there, it’s equally important the same level of attention should also be paid to regions like Pakistan where the level of diseases is only mounting by the day.” Lord Eric Avebury and Lord Qurban Hussain said they were impressed with this initiative, especially on such little overheads. They said the initiative needs support of anyone who cares for the medical needs of the poor families.

Reported by The News

Thursday 19 December 2013

Zakat Funds Misused in Azad Kashmir


Muzaffarabad, December 2013 : As if misappropriation of funds in general was not enough, the Prime Minister’s (PM) office in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has allegedly started interfering with the charitable Zakat fund, according to sources in the Zakat Department. The department has also recently received a handwritten letter from Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed directing it to provide Rs200,000 to a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) woman activist, according to the sources, requesting not to be named. “On the PM’s instructions, Rs50 million from the fund have already been distributed among politicians for their foreign trips and medical treatment.

During the last 11 months, funds in excess of Rs8.56 million have been given to former prime ministers, ministers and advisers.” About Rs3 million, earmarked for the treatment of poor patients, were given to some “financially-sound PPP workers.” About Rs80 million were distributed among the voters and supporters of the party. Out of these, Rs10 million, though, were given to the needy families, affiliated with the ruling party. “Besides the unfair distribution of funds meant for medical treatment and dowries for the needy, the premier has disbursed over Rs30 million allegedly to “favourites” without complying with the procedure of selecting beneficiaries, the sources added.

Maal aur Amaal - Pothwari Drama by Dadyal Online Productions



'Maal aur Amaal' is a Mirpuri drama by Dadyal Online Productions. It was released in episodes on the Dadyal Online YouTube channel from 25th December 2013. The drama has been filmed in Dadyal and all actors are locals. Sameer Hussain (MD Dadyal Online) has written, directed, produced, edited and starred in 'Maal aur Amaal'. The above video consists of all 5 episodes of the drama.

Daily Motion Link: Maal aur Amaal




























Daewoo Launches Bus Service from Mirpur to Lahore


December 19th 2013: Daewoo starts service from Mirpur to Lahore: Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service has introduced bus service from Mirpur (Azad Kashmir) to Lahore and Rawalpindi. Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s President, Sardar Yaqoob Ahmed inaugurated the bus service at a mega event which was also attended by Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service’s President, C.I. Park. While addressing the people, he said that Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service is honored to expand their bus service till Azad Kashmir. He also said that in order to promote tourism in Azad Kashmir, it is crucial to expand bus service along with expansion of road network. He also pointed out that the people of Mirpur will now have access to Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service’s widespread bus service network. He further went on to say that business men in Mirpur will now be able to take advantage of the company’s cargo services. At the event, Sardar Yaqoob Ahmed thanked C.I Park and acknowledged that this bus service has started a process of revolutionary change in the transport sector of Azad Kashmir. He also emphasized on the importance of foreign investment in Azad Kashmir especially in the transport sector and hoped that this step will lead to more investors coming in.

Monday 16 December 2013

Friday 13 December 2013

 
Design by Wordpress Theme | Bloggerized by Free Blogger Templates | coupon codes