Issue In Pakistan Research Articles

Understanding the Cohesion and Stability Issues of Pakistan: Appraisal & Solution

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is becoming important in the international safety calculus. Cohesion and stability issues in Pakistan are a matter of concern and debate in academic and non-academic circles, on national and international forums. This article presents an appraisal with recommendations for a practical solution, in the light of religious, social, economic, and political feelings of its citizens. A different viewpoint on the cohesion and stability issues of Pakistan is being propagated in national and international media. The article does not criticize the opinions of others, but on the contrary, conceives a secure outlook for Pakistan. It conveys Qur’ān and Sunnah as two key resources synchronized with certain supplementary texts. The article claims that the pessimistic view about Pakistan can be improved by the elimination of internal chaos and resentments in the lifespan of its public; by the removal of difficulties, and insecurities, triggered by the warfare of terror, fear and distresses. The article claims that Pakistan was established on the tenets of Islamic Ideology. Therefore, the only feasible way to triumph over this alarming situation rests in the observance of those modest fundamentals, for which this land was envisioned and achieved by the Indian Muslims of the sub-continent.

Households Health Cost from Water Borne Diseases in District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The provision of safe drinking water is a very serious issue in Pakistan, including Swat district. Recently, the effects of unsafe drinking water on the health cost of the local community of district Swat has got their importance. The main objective of the study is to estimate the households’ health costs of waterborne diseases. The secondary objective of the study is to determine the factors that affect the household health cost from water borne diseases. The study applied to the health cost function on primary data collated from 433 households through a survey questionnaire in district Swat. Results reveal that typhoid, diarrhea, vomiting, and gastroenteritis (vomiting & diarrhea) are the most common waterborne diseases in the District. In rural areas of the district, the prevalence of typhoid and gastroenteritis is higher, whereas in urban areas the prevalence of diarrhea and vomiting is higher. Besides, households who use drinking water from public tube wells mostly suffer from gastroenteritis and vomiting, whereas households who use water from digging wells or from natural springs mostly suffer from gastroenteritis and diarrhea. On average, households bear the highest direct and total health costs of PKR 11685 or USD 52 and PKR 12778 or USD 57 respectively, if their family member suffers from typhoid. Similarly, on average, households bear the highest indirect health cost of PKR 1388 or USD 6, if their family member suffers from diarrhea. Results from the regressions show that household income, disease affected member age, education of household head, the prevalence of typhoid, diarrhea, vomiting, gastroenteritis, and the drinking water sources like tube well and spring significantly affect the direct, indirect, and total health costs of the households. The study recommended that the renovation of the existing drinking water sources and introduction of new safe drinking water schemes can reduce the burden of waterborne diseases and can reduce the health cost of households.

THE COVERAGE OF KASHMIR AND YEMEN CONFLICTS IN THE CONTEXT OF POLICY CERTAINTY AND PREVAILING POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT: CONTENT ANALYSIS OF NAWA-I-WAQT AND EXPRESS

This article examines the relationship between Urdu press and policy issues in Pakistan, where, apart from vibrant electronic media, the press has a lot of importance in shaping public opinions about foreign policy related issues. Analyzing the diversified approaches of press towards [foreign] policy issues, this study is theoretically conducted in the context of elites’ debate over policy issues as thoroughly explained in literature on Indexing theory (Bennett,1990). Coupled with the cover assumptions of Pier Robinson’s Policy-media interaction model (2000), the study evaluates the nature of reporting of the two violent issues including Kashmir conflict (2016), after killing of digitally connected freedom fighter Burhan Wani, and the Yemen conflict (2015) in selected newspapers i.e. Nawa-i Waqt and Express. The findings, mainly, suggest that oppositional or critical coverage was triggered at the time when government was lacking a clear policy line or it [government] failed to dominate the policy debate over an issue as in the case of Yemen conflict. Hence, reporting this issue, the selected newspapers criticized Pakistan’s uncertain policy line, mainly in the context of government’s delayed decision to join coalition, which was formed to fight with terrorism, and it [the military coalition] was leading by Saudi Arabia. Unlike the Yemen conflict, the findings that were in line with the core assumptions of Robinson’s model suggest that Pakistani media was tended more towards supportive coverage in case of politically controlled policy issue of Kashmir, which was highly framed in line with government’s guidelines, and decisions.

S. Akbar Zaidi. Issues in Pakistan’s Economy. Second Edition Revised and Expanded. Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2005. xii+530 Pages. Paperback. Pak. Rs 595.00.

“Issues in Pakistan’s Economy” by S. Akbar Zaidi was first published in 1999. The book provided comprehensive information on different aspects of the economy in Pakistan since independence. The idea of writing this book originated from Oxford University Press as there was no book on the economy of Pakistan to benefit the graduate students, researchers, scholars, academicians, and the general public. The book was prescribed as a standard text book in the area of issues in Pakistan’s economy. It is also used as a standard book on the courses on South Asia’s development, economic history, and political economy of the region. The book became a best seller due to its subject matter. That is why a great need was felt to update the book that forced the author to expand, update, and revise the book and improve the shortcomings left in the previous edition. The Second edition includes a large amount of new research material. Also, the most recent available data have been included in the tables of the text throughout the book. Three new chapters have been added, some of the chapters have been reformulated, and the new arrivals in theory and empirical research have also been incorporated, accordingly. The book under review presents the important issues in the form of boxed text, appendices, chapter summaries, and provides suggested readings to further enhance the knowledge in specific areas. The efforts and the pains of the author in completing this book are highly laudable in producing such a valuable piece of research on economic development in Pakistan over the fifty-seven years to benefit the end users in completing their studies, research work, and policy-oriented assignments.

Tax amnesty schemes, anti-money laundering regulations and customer due diligence by financial institutes: an evaluation of the implementation issues in Pakistan

Purpose Tax amnesty (TA) schemes are typical in developing countries. Governments’ claims and suppositions are continually heightened; however, this may differ in actuality. This study aims to present an overview of the effectiveness of TA schemes and the problems they raise in implementing anti-money laundering regulations. Design/methodology/approach This study used a qualitative research design. Content analysis was used to analyse research articles, reports, legal documents and news articles. Findings Every amnesty offered in Pakistan from 1956 to 2018 failed to meet government expectations. Instead, the continuity resulted in an irrepressible black economy. The black economy’s uncontrollability undermines tax collection and hinders a robust anti-money laundering regime. Significantly, tax holidays with discrepant legislation strengthen evaders, plunderers and launderers. These policies severely impede the implementation of anti-money laundering policies in the financial institutions of Pakistan. Additionally, Pakistan's geopolitical location, circumstance and war against terror cannot afford any policy that provides monetary relaxation to offenders. Practical implications There is no concrete evidence to support long-term economic progress through the implementation of amnesty schemes as a revenue collection policy. This study evaluates previous studies and findings to understand the effect of tax amnesties on the financial industry of Pakistan. The findings have practical implications for tax collection authorities, policymakers and international financial bodies. Originality/value Previous studies have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Pakistan’s regular tax amnesties. However, this study discusses the implementation of TA schemes concerning anti-money laundering regulations and customer due diligence by financial institutes and provides suggestions to minimise its negative implications.

Experience of Pharmacists with Anti-Cancer Medicine Shortages in Pakistan: Results of a Qualitative Study

This study aimed to examine the current situation of anti-cancer drug shortages in Pakistan, namely its determinants, impacts, adopted mitigation strategies, and proposed solutions. Qualitative semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 pharmacists in oncology hospitals in Pakistan from August to October 2021. Data were collected in person and online, recorded, and subjected to inductive thematic analysis after being transcribed verbatim. Most participants experienced anti-cancer drug shortages that increased during the pandemic. Etoposide, paclitaxel, vincristine, dacarbazine, and methotrexate were frequently short. Important causes included the compromised role of regulatory authorities, lack of local production, and inventory mismanagement. The impacts were delayed/suboptimal treatment and out-of-pocket costs for patients, patients' prioritization, increased workload, negative work environment, and patients' trust issues for pharmacists. The participants proposed that a cautious regulator's role is needed to revise policies for all stakeholders and support all stakeholders financially at their level to increase access to these medicines. Based on the outcomes, it is clear that anti-cancer medicine shortages are a current issue in Pakistan. Governmental authorities need to play a role in revising policies for all levels of the drug supply chain and promoting local production of these drugs. Stakeholders should also collaborate and manage inventory.

Genetic mutations underlying isoniazid-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a major public health issue in Pakistan. Isoniazid is a first-line pro-drug that requires activation through an enzyme called catalase peroxidase, but is subject to widespread resistance, driven by mutations in katG and inhA genes and other loci with compensatory effects (e.g., ahpC). Here, we used whole genome sequencing data from 51 M. tuberculosis isolates collected from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (years 2016–2019; all isoniazid phenotypically resistant) to investigate the genetic diversity of mutations in isoniazid candidate genes. The most common mutations underlying resistance were katG S315T (37/51), fabG1 -15C>T (13/51; inhA promoter), and inhA −154G>A (7/51). Other less common mutations (n < 5) were also identified in katG (R128Q, V1A, W505*, A109T, D311G) and candidate compensatory genes ahpC (−54C>T, −51G>A) and oxyS (M249T). Using DynaMut2 software, the mutants exhibited various degrees of stability and flexibility on protein structures, with some katG mutations leading to a decrease in KatG protein flexibility. Overall, the characterisation of circulating isoniazid resistant-linked mutations will assist in drug resistant TB management and control activities in a highly endemic area of Pakistan.

Halitosis and its Psychosocial Effects Among Patients Reporting at Dental out Patients Department: A Neglected Oral Health Issue in Pakistan

Objective: To assess the burden of halitosis among dental patients and to explore the psychosocial factors associated with halitosis at Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad. Study Design: Cross sectional study Study Setting &amp; Duration: was conducted at Dental OPD of Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad from March to August 2017. Patients presented with halitosis at Dental OPD of Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad via convenient sampling technique were selected within duration of six months. Methodology: A group of 239 subjects were included in this study and the simple convenient sampling technique was used to obtain data for the research. Written consent form was taken from each subject. Results: Among 239 participants, 115 were male and 124 were female. 81.59% of patients reported experience of bad breath.62.50% of individuals claimed that having bad breath had made them less social, 65% of respondents said they feared social interaction and public events. Conclusion: The most of participants of the study had halitosis, whether it was real or imagined, and it had an effect on the patients' social and marital lives and produces psychiatric symptoms such as stress, lack of confidence, isolation and avoidance of gathering. Keywords: Halitosis, Socialization, Emotional distress, Self-confidence

Portrayal of Transgender on Facebook and Audience Behavior: A Case Study of Julie Khan

This study examines the portrayal of transgender on Facebook by The centrum Media (TCM) Originals that had made a series namely Naked Truth in which they had featured Julie Khan (Transgender). Various national and international studies have been reviewed in this research. Agenda setting theory has been applied in this study. Content analysis has been selected with a systematic random sampling technique. Two units are segmented in this study for analysis. One was the dialogues of Julie Khan, and the second one was Audience comments on the videos of Julie khan, which TCM uploaded on the platform of Facebook. Season 01 has been selected as the population of the study. In these videos, Julie Khan highlighted different kind of issues in Pakistan. The conclusion was in favor of Julie Khan. People highly encouraged the videos and issues discussed by Julie Khan in the series Naked Truth.

Pandemonium of diseases after floods – An emerging major health issue in Pakistan

Floods and heavy rain bring another disaster of diseases and pose a huge burden on the health care system. Pakistan is currently facing a major natural disaster of this decade, where Sindh and Baluchistan are badly affected. Millions of people are homeless and live in camps, shelter homes, or tent cities. The diseases that emerge immediately after floods include gastroenteritis with diarrhoea and vomiting, followed by vector-borne diseases (i.e. malaria and dengue fever) influenced by the growth of mosquitoes in the stagnant water. Due to unhygienic conditions and overcrowded camps, skin diseases emerge later. Altogether this situation causes major burden on the already weakened health care system, which is devastated due to rain and even destroyed in some places. Thus proper planning and preventive measures need to be taken on an urgent basis.

Structurally Accepted Crime: Domestic Violence in Pakistan

Domestic violence is a major social issue because of its various severe physical, psychological, emotional, and social implications. When a culture rationalises such anti-human practises and gives them a structural form, they become part of the structural framework. Domestic violence is considered a private matter, though it is the most common crime in Pakistan. No one paid heed to such violence unless disfigurement or death took place. Two provinces of Pakistan ratified a law on domestic violence, but there is no national legislation on the issue. Such violence comes under the ambit of the Criminal law, which prescribes a death sentence in the case of femicide and various terms of imprisonment depending on the nature of the wound. Domestic violence is a significant issue in Pakistan. To know the legal reality of a system, analysis of court decisions must be complemented by the research and work of other legal bodies. The study will help to improve the existing laws and lead to the introduction of new laws, social and political policies to solve the problem of domestic violence.

Path towards sustainable energy development: Status of renewable energy in Indian subcontinent

Many countries are mitigating the shortfall of electricity through the renewable energy system. Research is still continued in this direction to find other alternatives or reduce the consumption of electricity. This paper presents the status of the renewable energy system in the Indian subcontinent which includes India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. This paper presents, a comparative assessment of the capacity of all the renewable energy systems is done. The effects of renewable energy on the economic growth, foreign direct investment, domestic investment, electricity sustainability, and environmental sustainability of the Indian subcontinent is presented along with SWOT analysis. According to the SWOT analysis it is find out, the main threats in different countries are such as inefficiency in risk analysis technology and mitigation mechanism in India, Inadequate infrastructure, Terrorism, Unbalance political issues in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and opportunity to increase the electricity generation through the wind, geothermal and ocean energy in the Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives.

MINORITIES RIGHTS IN PUNJAB: PRIMARY DATA BASED ANALYSIS OF HINDU MINORITY

Religious Minorities are facing serious issues in Pakistan. They are living and having a lot of issues in toleration from the society. Article 20 of the Constitution states that every Pakistani citizen have liberty to establish their religious institutions and practice their own religion. With all these equal rights mentioned in constitution the country has lack of implementation of state policies. The purpose of the research is to explore the realities about the Hindu group and dealing with them by society. The constitution of 1973 provides the guarantee of equal rights of citizen, but some marginalized groups suppressed by the society. The Special focus of this research is to collect primary data from Hindu Minority. For this purpose, a questionnaire has designed to get the basic information form Hindu Minority.

Exogenous Progesterone Produces Significant Histomorphological Changes in the Lungs of Experimental BALB/c Mice

Background: Progesterone is used in combined oral contraceptive pills and also has its effect on the respective receptors which are responsible for sexual development. Bronchial asthma emerges to be a major health issue in Pakistan with estimated prevalence is about 5% of the total population. Epidemiological studies highlight that one of the considerable risk factor for morbidity and mortality in inflammatory lung diseases is female gender. This suggests that sex-related hormones might play an imperative role in asthma disease progression. Understanding the biological role of sex hormones in regulating airway inflammation is crucial given the rising prevalence of chronic diseases among women worldwide. Aim: To determine the effect of progesterone on lungs of adult male mice by assessing and comparing the histological parameters e.g. bronchiolar smooth muscle size and peri-bronchial lymphocytic infiltration. Study Design: Randomized control trial Place and Duration of Study: Department of Physiology, Islamabad Medical &amp; Dental College Islamabad in collaboration with National Institute of Health Islamabad from 1st October 2018 to 31st July 2019. Methodology: Sixty BALB/c mice were divided into 2 groups and each group comprised 30 mice. Group I (control group) received only distilled water and group 2 (norethisterone BP group) received pills mixed in distal water according to body weight of the mice respectively for 60 days. Results: In response to progesterone, 30% of the total mice had nil, 40% had mild, 26.7% of the total who showed moderate while severe PBLI was observed in 3.3% of the mice. Different frequencies of Bronchiolar Smooth Muscle Hyperplasia were observed when compared to Control group. Mild to moderate hyperplasia was produced by progesterone (norethisterone BP) group. Conclusion: Progesterone is the sexual hormone which modulates inflammatory processes in the lungs producing pulmonary inflammatory responses leading to asthma and also causes hyperplasia of the bronchiolar smooth muscles. Keywords: Progesterone, Asthma, Bronchiolar smooth muscle, Peri-bronchial lymphocytic Infiltration, BALB/c mice

Patient-Physician Violence in The Hospitals of Pakistan: A Multi-Center Qualitative Study

Violence against physicians has been considered a significant issue in Pakistan. Objective: This study was conducted to explore the need for specific policy-related responses to patient-physician violence in the hospitals of Pakistan. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in the hospitals of Pakistan, by using in-depth interviews. A total of 40 participants were selected out of which ten were in-depth interviews with patients, ten in-depth interviews with their families, ten in-depth interviews with physicians, and ten in-depth interviews with the administrative staff. In-depth interviews were recorded and then transcribed. The responses of the participants were coded with the help of thematic analysis. Results: The results of the study revealed that three main themes were derived through thematic analysis. The cause is multi-factorial. The employees of the health sector were asked to build revenue without taking care of patients' needs. In the east, no training is provided to physicians regarding how to prevent violence. Patient-physician violence leads to various disputes as a result of which verbal and physical abuse is observed towards physicians. Conclusion: The financial stress at hospitals to increase revenue has ruined the patient-physician relationship leading to violence. Certain policies should be developed for the security of physicians. The low literacy rate among patients is also one of the major contributing factors. Communicating strategies should be developed to prevent patient-physician violence.

Perceived Affecting Factors and Teachers’ Priorities to Support Teaching Profession

Teachers’ roles are dynamic among all the factors contributing to educational achievements. Teachers’ performance is an important factor associated with policy implementation and organizational outcomes. This article elicited the teachers’ perceptions of fundamental factors affecting the teaching profession. The study conducted a focus group interview and analyzed it. A list of indicated factors was prepared and corroborated with existing literature. An online survey was conducted, and participants were asked to rank these suggested factors in order of priority for amelioration to sustain the teaching profession. The interdependence of preferences in identified seven critical areas was tested through teachers’ demographics. The finding discussed factors affecting the teaching profession, including current issues in Pakistan's education sector. This study illustrates factors for prioritizing policy reforms through teachers’ insights.

Rule of Law, Control of Corruption and CO2 Emissions in Pakistan

The rule of law and control of corruption would play an effective role in managing CO2 emissions in Pakistan. The present research has explored this issue in Pakistan controlling economic growth during 1996-2019. Further, the unit root and cointegration tests are used. We found the long and short-run relationships in the model. Economic growth has a positive effect on CO2 emissions. The rule of law could not impact in the long run and negatively impacts in the short run. Hence, improving law and order conditions would reduce CO2 emissions in the short run, and further improvements in the rule of law could have pleasant long-run environmental effects. The control of corruption has a positive impact on CO2 emissions in the long run. However, the short-run effects of control of corruption with first and second lags are found negative.

EFFECTS OF PARENTING STYLE ON PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH IN OKARA DISTRICT, PAKISTAN

Based on past research, this study confirms the importance of parenting styles and personality. A Big Five personality type and parenting style scale were used. There were several studies that investigated the interaction between parenting style and personality, but there has been a shortage of research on this issue in Pakistan. The connection between parenting styles and personality was investigated in this study. This research comprised 105 students between the ages of 18 and 22. A probability sampling method was used to select the samples. This study was quantitative in nature. The Pearson correlation approach was applied to analyze the data. The results indicated that the five factors in the Big Five personality type are strongly correlated with parenting style scale factors. The study also looked into how parenting styles promote the personality development of youth. Keywords: Parents, parenting style, students, adolescents, personality development.

Effect of Household Cooking Energy Poverty on Child Respiratory Health in Pakistan

Household cooking energy poverty can lead to serious health concerns for the household members generally and children under age five specifically. To attain sustainable development goal 3 of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all of all ages, Pakistan has to strive for development in the child health sector. The recent pandemic has amplified the significance of this issue many folds. This study aims to identify the effect of household cooking energy poverty on the respiratory health of children under the age of five using Pakistan demographic and health survey data, 2017-18. 26.4 percent of the sample households are cooking energy poor in Pakistan. Child health is at greater risk in Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan due to a greater multidimensional incidence of cooking energy poverty. Rural areas with a higher incidence of energy poverty are also vulnerable in terms of child wellbeing. Negative binomial regression analysis estimates the effect of household cooking energy poverty on number of children with respiratory issues in Pakistan. Empirical results suggest that a one-unit increase in household cooking energy poverty in Pakistan leads to a significant increase in the expected log (count) of number of children with respiratory infection by 0.21. Household cooking energy poverty directly affects respiratory health of children under age five in Pakistan. The study recommends that through the development and adoption of the use of modern stoves and clean fuels, improvement in the indoor environment and health of children in Pakistan can be attained.

Does domestic violence affect the freedom of women life in Pakistan

Domestic violance is an emerging issue in Pakistan, the objective of this work was to analyse the current situation in Pakistan and to find out the impact of such domestic violance on other family members.It was discriptive study and the data was gathered from existing research reports, research papers reports prepared by government and non government organizations.It was found that man has dominant role in our society and has a great power to control the domestic affair and women are considered as a weak gender. So there are number of cases reported regarding domestic violance on daily bases. In Pakistan domestic violance includes beating, killing, abduct, assault, actual attack and acid throwing. In Pakistan there is one significant reason behind this brutality is the poverty in our culture and this culture is mostly controlled by men. So it was concluded that domestic violance is still prevailing in Pakistan and it has a great negative social and pshycological impact on other members of society.It was recommended that the government should implement its law and policies regarding domestic violance against those who are involve in such types of act.