DUBAI: Dr. Farook Rasheed A Farooki was 29 years old when he left his home in Muzaffarabad- Kashmir to settle for a life as a young doctor in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
That was 45 years ago.
Soon, with his hardwork and excellent reputation, he became a naturalized citizen of the Kingdom. However, he says, his love for Pakistan always kept him grounded.
He finally decided to take the leap when, along with other like-minded Pakistanis, he established a charity hospital for kidney patients and named it as the Pakistan Kidney Center.
“In 1969, I came to Jeddah to look for a better life and got a job in the Ministry of Health. I worked there for eight years and then started my own clinic as a family physician. I worked very hard in my adopted country. And in return , I got a lot of respect and love. I was able to give a good life to my family,” the 76--year-old father of two said.
But that was not enough for him. “I always felt that I have a loan to pay to my motherland, where I was born and where I was educated.”
Eventually, he and his friend, Dr. Khaleelur Rehman, decided to establish two charity health projects in Pakistan — the Pakistan Kidney Center and Heath Mobile Units.
This was essential as Pakistan ranks eight in kidney diseases causing 20,000 deaths every year. Additionally, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is rapidly growing in Pakistan, too.
“There are very few facilities available in our country, especially on the mountainous region. Patients have to travel a long way to major cities which add to the cost of their treatment. So we decided to build our center on the Silk Route’s main highway from Islamabad to Abbotabad, which is called Muslimabad,” he said.
The Pakistan Kidney Center was established in April 2015. With 14 machines, the facility provides 35 dialysis sessions on a daily basis.
“We successfully started our OPD with 14 dialysis machines [which works in two shifts] to take care of around 40 of patient every day. We maintain the highest standards. All machines are busy round the clock, so much so that we are now considering to start the third shift of dialysis,” Dr. Farooki said.
He added that the construction and operational costs of the facility cost him nearly Rs200 million. “Around Rs75 million was gathered through personal donations of board members and rest came from friends and philanthropists in KSA. Our current running cost is Rs2 to 2.5 million per month, out of which 25 to 30 percent is generated by center revenue. Rest comes from donations,” he said.
He has set his sights on launching a Mobile Health Unit next. “In the mountainous parts of Pakistan, there are no hospitals, no OPD facilities, or even trained medical staff. Hence, the only way to provide medical care they deserve is to reach them with Mobile OPDs on a regular basis,” he said, adding that “our mobile units travel to far-flung areas holding camps, providing medicine, and creating awareness about the prevention of diseases.”
His impending age and logistic challenges haven’t discouraged Dr. Farooki from serving his motherland. “I knew it won’t be easy. But nothing can stop me to help my people. Allah has given me the opportunity to serve my homeland. And I will do it with the best of my abilities till my last breath,” he said.
Dr. Farooki is not alone. Several other Pakistani expatriates in the Gulf voiced similar aspirations. Dr. Asjad Hameed, a famous diabetologist in the the UAE, is another such example.
Early this year, Dr. Hameed and his friends realized their six-year long dream by establishing a world-class diabetes hospital near Islamabad which they named The Diabetes Center.
Dr. Hameed, 51, has been working on curbing the nationwide epidemic of diabetes in Pakistan for more than a decade. Pakistan is one of the top ranked in the list of countries with diabetes where one out of five people suffers from the disease.
Dr. Hameed’s journey began in November 2011, when he decided to take the plunge. During a winter morning walk along the corniche, he shared his idea of establishing a hospital in Pakistan with two of his close friends.
Since then, there has been no looking back. “I initiated the project six years ago with my life’s savings of Dh300,000. We first launched a site clinic in Islamabad in 2012, where more than a 100 patients visited per day. And in April 2018, our world-class hospital became operational,” the father of three said, adding that “till date, we have spent Dhs 25 million on the hospital and are treating 200 patients per day.”
“We [Pakistani Gulf expatriates] are not only the highest in providing remittances to the country, we also serve our country in many ways. Contributing to the health sector is one such example. There are many known and many unsung heroes from the gulf countries who are serving Pakistan in several ways,” Dr. Hameed said.
“Though providing quality health services to all Pakistanis is the government’s job, we as responsible citizens cannot sit back and see our brothers and sisters suffering. We may have left our homes for the better future. But our heart and soul is still there. We will continue to do whatever we can. Keeping our people healthy is certainly one of such responsibilities that we owe to our country,” he said.
According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) issued in 2017, Pakistan spent 0.5 to 0.8 percent of its GDP on health care for the past 10 years while the WHO benchmark of health expenditure is at least 6 percent of the GDP to provide basic and lifesaving services.
‘We may have left our homes but our heart and soul are still in Pakistan’
‘We may have left our homes but our heart and soul are still in Pakistan’
- Expatriates residing in the GCC look to pay back by contributing to the country’s health care sector
- Have played a crucial role in promoting quality facilities over the years
Pakistan eyes enhanced trade with Indonesia ahead of its president’s visit
- Indonesia’s president is expected to visit Pakistan later in January to discuss trade, bilateral issues
- Planning minister calls for cooperation with Indonesia in education, health, information and tourism
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has directed officials to devise a strategy to boost bilateral trade with Indonesia, state-run media reported on Thursday, as Islamabad gears up to welcome President Prabowo Subianto to the country later this month.
Pakistan and Indonesia have attempted to bolster their economic ties through trade and investment over the years. The two countries signed a Preferential Trade Agreement in 2012 that became operational in September 2013, allowing for concessional market access to 232 goods from Pakistan such as fresh fruits, cotton and fabrics, and 313 from Indonesia, such as edible palm oil products, sugar confectionaries and cocoa products.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that Subianto will be in Pakistan later this month an official visit to the country.
“The minister directed the relevant authorities to formulate concrete proposals to enhance trade relations, emphasizing the need to strategically target the Indonesian market to showcase Pakistani products effectively,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said.
Iqbal was speaking to officials while he chaired a meeting of a committee constituted by Sharif to enhance bilateral cooperation and trade between both countries ahead of Subianto’s visit.
“This landmark visit will open new avenues for trade and cooperation, further strengthening bilateral relations between Pakistan and Indonesia,” APP quoted Iqbal as saying.
“Indonesia has successfully integrated its cultural diversity into a unified identity. We can learn from their model.”
Iqbal stressed collaboration with Indonesia in the education, health, information technology and tourism sectors. He also suggested providing scholarships in IT and health care sectors to students from both countries.
In October last year, Pakistan and Indonesia signed bilateral trade pacts and memorandums of understanding worth $10.7 million during an Indonesian trade expo.
According to the Pakistan Business Council, the trade relationship between Pakistan and Indonesia holds significant potential for growth, with opportunities for increased cooperation in areas like agriculture, textiles, and energy.
Pakistani authorities report 70th polio case of 2024 from Karachi
- Onset of polio case took place in December 2024, say Pakistani health authorities
- Pakistan has reported 20 out of 70 poliovirus cases from southern Sindh province
KARACHI: Pakistani health authorities reported the country’s 70th poliovirus case of 2024 on Thursday, saying that its symptoms started becoming apparent in a child last month in the southern port city of Karachi, the polio eradication program said.
Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to provide high immunity against the disease.
As per the program, the onset of this case was on Dec. 21, 2024 and the case was reported in the Karachi East district. With the latest case, the district has now reported two polio cases from 2024.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in a male child from Karachi East,” the program said in a statement.
As per the latest toll, out of the 70 poliovirus cases of 2024, 27 have been reported from Balochistan, 21 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 20 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
The Pakistan Polio Program organizes several mass vaccination campaigns annually, delivering the vaccine directly to people’s doorsteps.
On Jan. 6, Pakistan concluded a week-long anti-polio drive in southwestern Balochistan.
The health ministry said the first nationwide polio campaign of this year is scheduled to take place from Feb. 3-9, urging the parents to ensure the safety of their children by welcoming the vaccinators.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners, who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.
Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccination teams.
In the early 1990s, the country reported around 20,000 cases annually, but in 2018, the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan hopes Afghanistan joins other Islamic countries at girls’ education summit
- Pakistan to host global conference on girls education in Islamabad from Jan. 11-12
- No justification for restricting women’s education in Islam, says education minister
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s education minister on Thursday hoped Afghanistan would join representatives from 47 other Islamic countries and attend the upcoming global conference on girls’ education in Muslim countries, scheduled to be held later this week in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s education ministry will host the global conference titled: “Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities” from Jan. 11-12 in Islamabad. Pakistan’s foreign office said on Wednesday that 150 representatives from 47 countries, including education experts, religious scholars, diplomats, and politicians are expected to partake in the summit.
Since the Afghan Taliban seized Kabul in August 2021, women and girls have been gradually barred from attending secondary school and university, undertaking most forms of paid employment, and attending public spaces such as public parks or gyms by the government there.
“We have extended an invitation to Afghanistan to participate in this conference and hope that their delegation will attend, as it is a very important neighboring country,” Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told reporters during a media briefing in Islamabad.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, at least 1.4 million Afghan girls have been denied access to secondary education, according to a report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) released in August last year.
The minister said everyone respects tribal customs and cultures, but all such practices must align with Islamic values in Muslim countries, adding that nothing holds precedence over them.
“In Islam, there is no justification for restricting women’s education,” Siddiqui said.
He said that while the conference will officially kick off on Saturday, a session of the world’s religious scholars on girls’ education, chaired by the religion minister, will take place on Friday.
Siddiqui said the Muslim World League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and key Islamic countries are actively participating in this event.
“Malala Yousafzai, a renowned activist for girls’ education, will also participate in this conference,” he said, adding that experts and representatives from diplomatic missions in Islamabad from non-Muslim countries will also attend the event.
Describing the objective of the conference, he said the primary aim of the conference is to stress the implementation of the Islamic message, which clearly states that both men and women have the right to education.
“By promoting girls’ education, we can build better homes, a better society and a stronger nation,” he said.
He said education in Pakistan was currently in an emergency state as millions of children were out of school and needed important steps to deal with this situation.
Siddiqui said that an “Islamabad Declaration” will be announced after the conference on Sunday.
“This declaration will outline decisive steps to transform the trends of girls’ education in Islamic countries by mobilizing all available resources,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will inaugurate the event and deliver the keynote address at the opening session on Jan. 11.
Pakistan’s foreign office said Sharif will reaffirm the nation’s commitment to promoting girls’ education and gender equality.
Pakistan province calls for inquiry after Baloch separatists attack remote southwestern town
- Balochistan Liberation Army fighters torched Levies station, NADRA office before security forces moved in
- Strict action will be taken against district administration members found guilty of negligence, says official
QUETTA: The government in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Thursday called for an impartial inquiry into an attack by armed fighters from the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) group on a remote town in the country’s southwest before security forces regained control of it.
The attack in Zehri, located 150 kilometers from Khuzdar city, occurred when BLA fighters stormed the Levies force station on Wednesday and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office, setting the buildings ablaze and robbing a private bank.
Khuzdar deputy commissioner told Arab News that security forces retaliated in a timely manner and regained control of the area. One soldier of the Frontier Corps was injured during the standoff as the armed men escaped.
Shahid Rind, the spokesperson for the provincial government, said strict action would be taken against the district administration members found guilty of negligence during the attack and did not retaliate in a timely manner.
“Balochistan government has called for an impartial inquiry into the Zehri attack from all aspects,” Rind said in a statement, adding that the provincial home department had issued instructions to engage the civil administration in this regard.
Rind said law enforcement agencies are monitoring the situation in Zehri while the government has strengthened security arrangements in the entire province.
“The government has been taking concrete measures to uplift the performance of the civil administrations in the entire Balochistan to prevent attacks like Zehri in the future,” the spokesperson said.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and resource-rich province, has long been plagued by a low-level insurgency led by ethnic Baloch separatist groups like the BLA. They accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources, such as gold and copper, while neglecting the local population.
Pakistan rejects these allegations, asserting that the federal government has prioritized Balochistan’s development by investing in health, education and infrastructure projects.
The BLA has become a significant security threat in recent years, carrying out major attacks in Balochistan and Sindh provinces targeting security forces, ethnic Punjabis and Chinese nationals working on development projects.
Violence by Baloch separatist factions, primarily the BLA, killed about 300 people over the past year, marking an escalation in the decades-long conflict.
South Africa urged by minister to boycott Afghanistan match in Pakistan
- Minister criticizes Taliban’s decision to ban women’s sport, disband women’s cricket team
- Proteas are scheduled to play Afghanistan on Feb. 21 in group match in Karachi, Pakistan
PRETORIA: South Africa’s sports minister has joined public calls for the Proteas to boycott the Champions Trophy game against Afghanistan next month and criticized the International Cricket Council for not upholding its own rules.
Gayton McKenzie said on Thursday he felt “morally bound to support” a match boycott because the Taliban government has banned women’s sport and disbanded the national women’s cricket team.
“It is not for me as the sports minister to make the final decision on whether South Africa should honor cricketing fixtures against Afghanistan. If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen,” McKenzie said in a statement.
“As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done toward women anywhere in the world.”
The Proteas are scheduled to play Afghanistan on Feb. 21 in a group match in Karachi, Pakistan.
England was also urged to forfeit its match against Afghanistan on Feb. 26 by more than 160 UK politicians on Monday.
McKenzie believed the ICC was also being hypocritical for not upholding its own mandates that member nations develop men’s and women’s cricket.
McKenzie noted Sri Lanka Cricket was suspended by the ICC from November 2023 to January 2024 for government interference.
“This does not happen in the case of Afghanistan, suggesting that political interference in the administration of sport is being tolerated there,” McKenzie said.
“Cricket South Africa, the federations of other countries and the ICC will have to think carefully about the message the sport of cricket wishes to send the world,and especially the women in sports.
“I hope that the consciences of all those involved in cricket, including the supporters, players and administrators, will take a firm stand in solidarity with the women of Afghanistan.”
