World Literacy Day

[CENTCOM]

Do you remember how you celebrated your 18th birthday? That was a long time ago for me, but I still remember that everything revolved around me that day. I believe that is generally the case with everyone. However today, on the occasion of World Literacy Day, I am reminded of how another 18 year-old celebrated her birthday. I am talking of the Pakistani teenager, Malala Yousufzai, who drew the attention of the entire world towards the hardships faced by the Pakistani people, and the dedication and zeal of Pakistani children towards gaining education.

At such a young age she, once again, gained the admiration of the international community when she opened a school for the children of Syrian refugees. The slogan for her non-profit organization, which is geared towards education, is “books not bullets” - a perfect message on World Literacy Day. If we are to defeat violent extremist ideologies we, collectively, need to push towards replacing every suicide vest, stone, or gun, in the hands of a child with a book.

Happy Literacy Day!

Haroon Ahmad
DET – U.S. Central Command
www.facebook.com/centcomurdu

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Malala ka koi Chanaaaaaace nahi hai , Gullu at Service

KING GULLU the king of Pakistan

 

[indianBong]

education is an ignored area.... in most of the part of this world....

 

[Yaristan]

Do you remember how you celebrated your 18th birthday? That was a long time ago for me, but I still remember that everything revolved around me that day. I believe that is generally the case with everyone. However today, on the occasion of World Literacy Day, I am reminded of how another 18 year-old celebrated her birthday. I am talking of the Pakistani teenager, Malala Yousufzai, who drew the attention of the entire world towards the hardships faced by the Pakistani people, and the dedication and zeal of Pakistani children towards gaining education.

At such a young age she, once again, gained the admiration of the international community when she opened a school for the children of Syrian refugees. The slogan for her non-profit organization, which is geared towards education, is “books not bullets” - a perfect message on World Literacy Day. If we are to defeat violent extremist ideologies we, collectively, need to push towards replacing every suicide vest, stone, or gun, in the hands of a child with a book.

Happy Literacy Day!

Haroon Ahmad
DET – U.S. Central Command

Education for all and world peace is truly the need of the hour as highlighted by Malala, a true inspirational leader for the human society.

 

[CENTCOM]

Malala ka koi Chanaaaaaace nahi hai , Gullu at Service

KING GULLU the king of Pakistan

Ye kaun hai bhai?

Haroon Ahmad
DET - U.S. Central Command
United States Central Command - Urdu

 

[Sipahi]

Ye kaun hai bhai?

Haroon Ahmad
DET - U.S. Central Command
United States Central Command - Urdu

Haroon bhai Gullu butt of Lahore... Ye tasveer mosoof k bail lene k baad ki hai

 

[VCheng]

Happy Literacy Day!

Before literacy comes food:

Undernourished children - Newspaper - DAWN.COM

Undernourished children
EDITORIAL — PUBLISHED ABOUT 2 HOURS AGO

IT is impossible to build a progressive, modern state if millions of children in this country remain undernourished. Regrettably, as a recently released report indicates, the situation where child nutrition in Pakistan is concerned is critical, and unless the state responds with alacrity, another health crisis may be in the making. As per the Global Nutrition Report 2015, only a minority of children in Pakistan are growing healthily, whereas half of the children under five are stunted or wasted. These figures are corroborated by similar findings, including those of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, which say that the nutritional state of children in this country is “exceptionally poor”. Expectedly, the problem is particularly acute in rural and less-developed areas, especially Sindh and Balochistan. The report also discusses the link between climate change and malnutrition; it says that even small seasonal fluctuations can have “big impacts” on food availability.

Experts have noted the need for “critical nutrition actions” to confront this crisis, which is by no means limited to Pakistan, as many other developing states are experiencing similar difficulties. Such findings on child nutrition have been discussed before. However, this sad state of affairs has failed to rattle the state or society out of complacency. Only when a large number of children die — as was the case in Thar last year — do we sit up and take notice, only to forget about the crisis as the next disaster begins to dominate the relentless news cycle. Clearly, Pakistan faces a child nutrition crisis and unless the state intervenes in an integrated, sustained manner, targeting the most at-risk children, this disaster will continue to unfold. There are many difficult obstacles standing in the way of a brighter tomorrow for Pakistan’s children. However, malnutrition is not an insurmountable problem and can be overcome should the state possess the will to confront it. The provincial and central administrations need to realise that this is a crisis of national importance and they must respond to it accordingly.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015