Arfa Karim

Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa (Urdu: ارفع کریم رندھاوا‎‎, 2 February 1995 – 14 January 2012) was a Pakistani student and computer prodigy who, in 2004 at the age of nine, became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). She kept the title until 2008. Arfa represented Pakistan on various international forums including the TechEd Developers Conference. She also received the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. A science park in Lahore, the Arfa Software Technology Park, was named after her. She was invited by Bill Gates to visit Microsoft Headquarters in the U.S.

Early life

 Arfa was born into a Punjabi family from the village of Chak No. 4JB Ram Dewali in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.

After returning to Pakistan from a visit to Microsoft headquarters, Arfa gave numerous television and newspaper interviews. S. Somasegar, the vice president of Microsoft’s Software Development Division, wrote about her in his blog. On 2 August 2005, Arfa was presented the Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz on the occasion of the 113th anniversary of the birth of Fatima Jinnah. She also received the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award again in August 2005 from the President of Pakistan. Arfa is also the recipient of the President’s Award for Pride of Performance, a civil award usually granted to people who have shown excellence in their respective fields over a long period of time. She is the youngest recipient of this award. Arfa was made brand ambassador for Pakistan Telecommunication Company’s 3G Wireless Broadband service, “EVO”, in January 2010

Representation at international forums

Arfa represented Pakistan on various international forums, and was invited by the Pakistan Information Technology Professionals Forum for a stay of two weeks in Dubai. A dinner reception was hosted for her there, which was attended by the dignitaries of Dubai including the Ambassador of Pakistan. During that trip, Arfa was presented with various awards and gifts including a laptop. In November 2006, Arfa attended the Tech-Ed Developers conference themed Get ahead of the game held in Barcelona on an invitation from Microsoft^. She was the only Pakistani among over 5000 developers in that conference.

Cardiac arrest and death

 

In 2011, at the age of 16, Arfa was studying at the Lahore Grammar School Paragon Campus in her second year of A-levels. On 22 December 2011 she suffered a cardiac arrest after an epileptic seizure that damaged her brain, and was admitted to Lahore’s Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in critical condition.

On 9 January 2012, Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, contacted Arfa’s parents and directed his doctors to adopt “every kind of measure” for her treatment. Gates set up a special panel of international doctors who remained in contact with her local doctors through teleconference. The panel received details about her illness and provided assistance in diagnosis and treatment. Local doctors dismissed the option of moving Arfa to another hospital owing to her being on a ventilator and in critical condition. Members of Arfa’s family have lauded Bill Gates for offering to bear her treatment expenses.On 13 January 2012, Arfa started to improve and some parts of her brain showed signs of improvement. Her father, Amjad Abdul Karim Randhawa, said Microsoft had raised the possibility of flying Arfa to the U.S. for care.

Arfa died in hospital at Lahore on 14 January 2012, aged 16. Her funeral, which was held on the following day, was attended by the Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif. She was buried at her ancestral village Chak No. 4JB Ram Dewali, Faisalabad.

Arfa Software Technology Park

On 15 January 2012, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced that the name of Lahore Technology Park would be changed to Arfa Software Technology Park.

 

Pakistan Facts

 

 

Pakistan is in the northwest part of South Asia. The eastern and southern parts of the country are dominated by the Indus River and its tributaries. Most of Pakistan’s population lives along the Indus. West of the Indus the land becomes increasingly arid and mountainous. To the north the land rises to the great mountains of the Hindu Kush and Karakoram—including K2, the world’s second highest mountain after Everest, at 8,611 meters (28,250 feet).

The military has loomed large in Pakistan, the western portion of a bifurcated country created for Muslims when the British relinquished predominantly Hindu India in 1947. Relations with New Delhi, embittered by claims to Kashmir, worsened as a result of India’s role in East Pakistan’s rebirth as Bangladesh in 1971.

Military rule followed Gen. Zia ul-Haq’s 1977 coup that toppled Prime Minister Ali Bhutto. After Zia’s death in a plane crash in 1988, Benazir Bhutto, daughter of the former prime minister, became the first woman elected to lead a Muslim nation. She restored civil rights, but was plagued by problems: continuing tension and a presumed nuclear arms rivalry with India, 3.5 million refugees from the war in neighboring Afghanistan, and a growing trade in heroin. Ousted in 1990, Bhutto was reelected in 1993; her government was dismissed in 1996 on charges of corruption.

Political unrest and a general failure of government followed the election of a new prime minister in 1997. Two years later a military coup led to General Pervez Musharraf becoming president. National and provincial elections were held in 2002, with these assemblies giving President Musharraf a vote of confidence in 2004.

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007 after returning to her country to campaign for reelection. In September 2008, Musharraf resigned as president and Bhutto’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari, won the election that followed.

Tensions with India came to a head in 1998 when both that country as well as Pakistan conducted nuclear tests. Kashmir is the key issue for India and Pakistan. Pakistan’s interest in Kashmir focuses on protecting the Muslim population in that region and in securing the headwaters of the Indus River, the country’s lifeline.

Favorable relations with China have been a pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy—helping to offset the power of India. Since 2001 Pakistan has been a key U.S. ally in the war on terrorism and in bringing democracy to neighboring Afghanistan.

An earthquake hit the Pakistan-controlled region of Kashmir in October 2005, with a death toll in the tens of thousands. Pakistan continues to struggle with its restive tribal areas and Islamic militants, as well as the demands for stability and national unity.

ECONOMY

• Industry: Textiles and apparel, food processing, beverages, construction materials
• Agriculture: Cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane; milk
• Exports: Textiles, rice, leather, sports goods, carpets and rugs

Breakthroughs made in identifying Bacha Khan University attackers: DG ISPR

 

PESHAWAR: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Asim Bajwa on Wednesday said major breakthroughs had been made in identifying the terrorists who attack the bacha khan university in Charsadda earlier in the day.

The ISPR chief said the terrorists’ phone calls had been traced and analysed, and that two cell phones had also been recovered from them.

“Their call logs were analysed and an intelligence picture was established, with most data having been collected,” said Lt Gen Bajwa.

PM Nawaz announces national mourning on Thursday over university attack

 

ISLAMABAD (Staff Reporter) – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday announced to observe a day of national mourning across the country on Thursday following the deadly terrorist attack on the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda.

Prime Minister Sharif, who is in Davos to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF), also telephoned Army Chief General Raheel Sharif and appreciated the swift military action after the terrorist assault.

Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhunkhwa government also announced 3-day of mourning across the province.

At least 30 people mostly students embraced martyrdom and scores of others were wounded when four heavily-armed gunmen stormed Bacha Khan University on Wednesday morning.

LIVE: 21 killed, over 30 injured as gunmen attack Bacha Khan University in Charsadda

CHARSADDA: A group of militants stormed Bacha Khan University in Charsadda on Wednesday morning. Firing and blasts were heard from inside the campus as the army carried out a clearance operation.

The militants, using the cover of thick, wintry fog, scaled the walls of the Bacha Khan University before entering buildings and opening fire on students and teachers in classrooms and hostels, police said.

The gunmen attacked as the university prepared to host a poetry recital on Wednesday afternoon to commemorate the death anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a popular ethnic Pashtun independence activist after whom the university is named.

The attack comes a little over a year after Taliban gunmen stormed Army Public School in December 2014 and slaughtered more than 150 people, most of them children, in an hours-long siege.

What we know so far:

– Gunfire, blasts heard as army carries out operation

21 killed, over 30 injured so far. Casualties feared to rise dramatically

– Four militants killed so far

– TTP claims responsibility for attack

– Army clearance operation underway 

Army chief arrives at Bacha Khan University

Army chief General Raheel Sharif arrives in Charsadda in wake of the attack at Bacha Khan University, Express News reports.

 

 

 

CHARSADDA: Militants stormed the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda on Wednesday, martyring at least 14 people and wounding at least 50 as the army hunted for any gunmen still holed up on the campus, officials said.

Security officials said the death toll could rise to as army commandos cleared out student hostels and classrooms.

Government officials gave contradicting figures for the death toll, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial legislator Shaukat Yousafzai saying as many as 25 people had been killed by the attackers.

But, KP information minister Shah Farman said that 14 people had been confirmed to have been killed.

Those confirmed to have been martyred included four security guards, a policeman, a chemistry professor, and two students.

The army said four terrorists were also killed by security personnel as they scoured the campus for any remaining attackers.

The Bacha Khan University is a public university approximately 15 kilometers from the centre of Charsadda city. It is named after the peace activist and leader Bacha Khan whose message of peace remains the motto of the university.

The attack comes on the same date as his death anniversary when a poetic symposium has been organized on campus. University officials said around 600 guests were also at the university when the attackers entered the campus and opened fire.