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	Top Stories Yasmeen Lari, 'starchitect' turned social engineer, wins one of architecture's most coveted prizes Pakistan bus network gives women a ticket to work and study In green jobs boost, communities get bigger role running Pakistan's national parks

	Top Stories Pakistan: Satellite TV broadcast explores Consciousness-Based Education Transcendental Meditation becoming widely popular in Pakistan Pakistan's maritime defence is not impregnable: Experts recommend coherence-creating Invincible Defence Technology

	Top Stories What's behind the Pakistani Taliban's insurgency? How Pakistan floods are linked to climate change Warming, other factors worsened Pakistan floods, study finds
Positive Trends Short Summaries of Top Stories Yasmeen Lari, 'starchitect' turned social engineer, wins one of architecture's most coveted prizes 2 May 2023 - Yasmeen Lari, widely recognized as Pakistan's first female architect, has become the first woman since Zaha Hadid to win the prestigious Royal Gold Medal, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Lari, described by RIBA as 'a revolutionary force in Pakistan,' was recognized for her socially conscious work, creating accessible, environmentally friendly homes for the country's most marginalized people -- those living below the poverty line and in communities displaced by natural disasters and the impact of climate change. (more) Pakistan bus network gives women a ticket to work and study 7 May 2022 - Thanks to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in the northwestern city of Peshawar, 23-year-old Jabeen said she had been able to continue her master's degree -- keeping alive her dreams of becoming a botanist. Launched in 2020, the BRT has proved hugely popular among women in the ultra-conservative city. in Peshawar, a quarter of seats are reserved for women on the fleet of diesel-electric hybrid buses, which are equipped with CCTV cameras, guards, and have well-lit stations, making female passengers feel more at ease. (more) In green jobs boost, communities get bigger role running Pakistan's national parks 17 July 2020 - In its latest move to generate jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic while boosting conservation and curbing the impacts of climate change, Pakistan has announced the creation of Pakistan's first National Parks Service, modeled on the U.S. agency. Under it, the country aims to get more local communities involved in running national parks and earning an income as they protect nearby conservation areas. (more) As a 'green stimulus' Pakistan sets virus-idled to work planting trees 16 May 2020 - Since Pakistan locked down starting March 23 to try to stem the spread of COVID-19, unemployed day labourers have been given new jobs as 'jungle workers', planting saplings as part of the country's 10 Billion Tree Tsunami programme. ... About 30 million indigenous saplings have been planted in Punjab since the start of the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami -- including mulberry, acacia, and moringa -- said Shahid Rashid Awan, project director for Punjab province. (more) Pakistan opens visa-free border crossing for India Sikhs 9 November 2019 - The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan inaugurated Saturday [9 November] a visa-free border crossing for Sikh pilgrims from India, allowing thousands of pilgrims to easily visit a Sikh shrine just inside Pakistan each day. Imran Khan and Narendra Modi held separate opening ceremonies on their respective sides of the new border crossing. (more) Youth, women spur social business growth in Pakistan - global poll 22 October 2019 - From turning organic waste into fertilizer to sharing farm equipment, new businesses seeking to address social problems in Pakistan have made the South Asian nation one of the best performers in the second global poll on social entrepreneurs. Pakistan was one of the three countries, along with Australia and the Netherlands, whose overall ranking improved the most since the first Thomson Reuters Foundation experts' poll on the best countries for social entrepreneurs in 2016. (more) France returns stolen ancient artifacts to Pakistan 2 July 2019 - France returned more than 400 stolen artifacts to the government of Pakistan on Tuesday [2 July], including ancient busts, vases, urns, and goblets, some dating to the second and third millennia B.C. In a ceremony held at Pakistan's embassy in Paris, 445 artifacts were handed back to Pakistan on Tuesday ... 'It is indeed a special moment for Pakistan,' said Muhammad Majad Aziz Qazi, the head of mission. 'It is also an emotional moment for us. We believe, today, that a part of Pakistan's heritage is coming back to its homeland.' (more) Faster, cheaper, greener: Pakistanis turn to car-pooling service 29 March 2019 - A web-based ride-sharing service helps fill empty commuter seats and cut congestion, air pollution, and climate change. Medical student Mahnoor Sherazi used to hail a shared public taxi to get to school, a way of traveling she found expensive, occasionally unsettling, and often inconvenient, with many stops slowing her commute. But she has now found a better -- and greener -- alternative: A ride sharing website that connects her with drivers who have free seats in their cars and who regularly make a similar commute between Islamabad and its twin city Rawalpindi. Customers using the service -- particularly women -- say they find sharing the same car on a regular basis safer and cheaper. (more) In Pakistan, a high mountain water pipe brings a bonus: peace 17 September 2018 - When a pipeline was installed last year to bring spring water and snowmelt to the village [Siksa, Pakistan] of 500 households in northern Pakistan, it brought something else as well: peace. The pipeline, sunk three feet into the ground, uses gravity to carry water six kilometres (3.7 miles) from the heights of the Karakoram Mountains in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan's northern-most region. A reliable supply of water also has allowed villagers for the first time in year to sell a surplus of vegetables grown in the nearby market towns of Khaplu and Skardu ... (more) Rural Pakistanis take to solar 26 April 2018 - Rural Pakistanis ... are increasingly turning to renewable energy to circumvent the country's notoriously unreliable power supply. About 10,000 solar systems have been installed since 2013 ranging in size from 50 watts to 200 watts, enough to power six light bulbs and two fans. Small-scale solar in Pakistan attracted $540 million in 2017, having received less than $100 million in each of the previous two years, according to a report published last month by the United Nations and and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. (more)
Success of Maharishi's Programmes Short Summaries of Top Stories Pakistan: Satellite TV broadcast explores Consciousness-Based Education 13 October 2015 - On 7 October, a broadcast on Sindh TV News (Pakistan) featured an in-depth exploration of Consciousness-Based Education and the role of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) programme in education. Dr Ashok Kumar, certified teacher of Transcendental Meditation in Pakistan, appeared on the show 'Education in Focus'. The programme was broadcast in the Sindhi language, one of the main provincial languages of Pakistan. One focus of the comprehensive show was the scientifically proven benefits of Consciousness-Based Education in promoting academic success; reduced stress, violence, and social conflict; and increased harmony and peace in society. This approach has been successfully adopted in schools around the world, including in the UK, USA, South Africa, Thailand, Latin America, and other countries. (more) Transcendental Meditation becoming widely popular in Pakistan 15 April 2014 - Since becoming certified as teachers of Transcendental Meditation, over the last few years Dr Ashok Kumar and his wife have have travelled to all of Pakistan's provinces, teaching the technique to hundreds of people. This includes, Dr Kumar said recently, people from every religion, race, and lifestyle, including retired and active duty senior military personnel and their families. Doctors and well-known consultants from a medical university hospital in Karachi have learned. They have taught engineers, government officials, mind science experts, yoga teachers, and experts in communication and personal development--as well as students, schoolteachers, school principals, and deans of universities, businessmen, entertainers, farmers, and villagers. (more) Pakistan's maritime defence is not impregnable: Experts recommend coherence-creating Invincible Defence Technology 2 February 2014 - The Global Alliance for Preventive Wings in the Military requests that Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his military leaders seriously consider, investigate, and deploy a scientifically-verified and field-tested approach for permanent invincibility, known as Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). IDT involves creating Preventive Wings of the Military--military societal coherence-creating units who practise Transcendental Meditation and its advanced Transcendental Meditation-Sidhi Programme twice a day, seven days a week. Validated by 23 studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, IDT has been employed to reduce violence and conflict in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America--a solution to achieve the goal of true invincibility. (more) Pakistan: Hundreds learn Transcendental Meditation 24 January 2014 - Programmes developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to promote an ideal quality of life for people around the world have been established in every type of country--affluent and impoverished, peaceful and war torn. In the past several years hundreds of people in Pakistan have been learning Transcendental Meditation, and their daily practice is quietly generating an influence of peace and harmony for their country and the region, an area plagued by wars and unrest for millennia. (more) Pakistan: Medical professionals utilize Transcendental Meditation in their practices 24 January 2014 - Interest in Transcendental Meditation is growing among medical professionals in Pakistan, who have begun utilizing the technique for relieving stress and symptoms of various maladies in their patients. Medical practitioners are using Transcendental Meditation to help treat people with migraine headaches and psychiatric issues. Research has been proposed on the application of Transcendental Meditation to improve quality of life for heart patients and young people with physical disabilities, and also in rehabilitation for young people with substance abuse problems. (more) Pakistan: People from all areas of society learning Transcendental Meditation 24 January 2014 - Since being trained as teachers of Transcendental Meditation a few years ago, Dr Ashok Kumar and his wife have taught the simple, natural, stress-relieving technique to almost 700 people in Pakistan. Travelling to every province throughout the country, teaching in large metropolitan areas as well as small towns and villages, they have taught people from many different religions, races, and lifestyles. As more and more people learn Transcendental Meditation and its advanced programmes, especially practising together in groups, the peaceful effect of their daily meditations is creating a foundation for a lasting state of peace and harmony throughout the region. (more) Pakistan: Television programmes aired on Transcendental Meditation 24 January 2014 - Dr Ashok Kumar, director of the Transcendental Meditation programme in Pakistan, has recorded more than 10 satellite television programmes on Transcendental Meditation on TV One news channel. He has also participated in group forums and discussions on Transcendental Meditation, and with practitioners of the technique on live television shows. (more) Pakistan: Top web TV talk show interviews Dr Ashok Kumar on Transcendental Meditation 10 September 2012 - Dr Ashok Kumar, a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation programme in Pakistan, recently appeared on the popular 'Cross Question' talk show on Cee TV--a top-rated Pakistani web channel. Respected TV anchor Riaz Aajiz conducted a lively and wide-ranging interview with Dr Kumar, who gave a comprehensive introduction to the Transcendental Meditation technique. Dr Kumar's dynamic presentation covered many topics including what Transcendental Meditation is, how it differs from other meditation practices, and an overview of extensive scientific research documenting its many benefits--for example reduced stress, increased integration of brain functioning, and improved health in individuals; and decreased violence and increased coherence and peace in society. (more) How Pakistan can have an 'invincible' military 20 April 2012 - PM Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and other leaders in Pakistan 'could make their mark if they adopt this most ideal defense system,' writes Dr David Leffler recently in PK Articles Hub about Invincible Defence Technology, which has been successfully applied by members of many faiths worldwide to produce societal coherence and eliminate conflict. 'The implementation of IDT would become a turning point in the history of Pakistan's national defense, and Pakistan would lead the world into perpetual peace.' (more) Create an international military Yogic-Flying zone in Kashmir: Pakistan Defence 23 August 2011 - Over the years 'no-fly zones' have gained worldwide attention, with the goal of hampering military aircraft of a bellicose country from conducting operations. While no-fly zones might potentially save lives, the authors of an article just published in Pakistan Defence urge the militaries of India and Pakistan to jointly establish a military 'Yogic-Flying zone' in the disputed border region of Kashmir--to create a ground of coherence in collective consciousness that would resolve deeply held differences, and create a lasting peace not only in Kashmir, but potentially worldwide. (more)
Flops Short Summaries of Top Stories What's behind the Pakistani Taliban's insurgency? 30 January 2023 - When a suicide bomber struck a mosque inside a police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday [30 January], suspicion immediately fell on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. In a post on Twitter, a commander for the group, Sarbakaf Mohmand, claimed responsibility for one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent months. But more than 10 hours later, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani distanced the group from the bombing ... (more) How Pakistan floods are linked to climate change 2 October 2022 - The devastating floods in Pakistan are a 'wake-up call' to the world on the threats of climate change, experts have said. The human impacts are clear -- another 2,000 people were rescued from floodwaters on Friday [2 September] while ministers warn of food shortages after almost half the country's crops were washed away. A sense of injustice is keenly felt in the country. Pakistan contributes less than 1 percent of the global greenhouse gases that warm our planet but its geography makes it extremely vulnerable to climate change. (more) Warming, other factors worsened Pakistan floods, study finds 16 September 2022 - A new study says human-caused climate change juiced the rainfall that triggered Pakistan's floods by up to 50 percent. ...What happened 'would have been a disastrously high rainfall event without climate change, but it's worse because of climate change,' said study senior author Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College of London. 'And especially in this highly vulnerable region, small changes matter a lot.' (more) Pakistan floods cost at least $10 billion, planning minister says 30 August 2022 - Early estimates put the damage from Pakistan's recent deadly floods at more than $10 billion, its planning minister said on Monday [29 August], adding the world has an obligation to help the South Asian nation cope with the effects of man-made climate change. Unprecedented flash floods caused by historic monsoon rains have washed away roads, crops, infrastructure and bridges, killing at least 1,000 people in recent weeks and affecting more than 33 million, over 15 percent of the country's 220 million population (more) Pakistan's mango production to fall by 50% due to heatwave, water shortage 25 May 2022 - Pakistan's mango production is expected to decline by around 50 percent this year, as the crop has been severely hit by unusually high temperatures and water shortages, the chief of a growers' and exporters' association said. Pakistan witnessed an extreme heatwave this month, with temperatures in the south crossing 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). The south Asian nation had jumped from winter to summer without experiencing a spring, according to the country's Climate Change Ministry. (more) Fears of more violence in Pakistan election after bomber kills 130 14 July 2018 - A week of bombings on political rallies has shattered the relative peace of Pakistan's general election campaign, culminating in a devastating suicide attack that killed at least 130 people at a rally in the southwestern Baluchistan province. As campaigning intensifies, attacks in different areas of the country have stoked fear of more violence in the Muslim country of 208 million where political rallies can draw tens of thousands of people. (more) Pakistan's 'shocking' spring heat drives up water use, health risks 31 May 2018 - Nawabshah, a city in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, made headlines last month when it hit what may be a new record world temperature for April: 50.2 degrees (122 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the World Meteorological Organization. But that blisteringly hot day was just the latest of many for Pakistan this year, as it faces fast-rising spring temperatures, with 45-degree Celsius days coming as early as March, weather officials say. ... But today, as temperatures get warmer and spring weather drier, 'soil moisture is around 80 percent less compared to some eight to 10 years ago,' [said Khalid Ahmed Kazi, an agro-meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department's station in Tando Jam, in southern Sindh province]. (more) Shorter, hotter, earlier: Shrinking spring slashes Pakistani harvests 21 May 2018 - Pakistan's farmers are struggling to bring in a harvest as the country's weather patterns change as a result of climate change. Warm spring weather, now coming as early as March, has led to fruit trees flowering before bees arrive to pollinate them, for instance, or fruit and vegetables ripening at unusual times. Farmer Muntazir Khan has seen his harvest of beets and tomatoes fall by 40 percent this year on his 3-acre family farm in Taxila, about 35 kms (22 miles) from Islamabad, despite planting seeds on time and applying the right fertiliser. ... The problem, the farmers agree, is that spring is getting shorter, hotter, and earlier. (more) South Asia smog disrupts travel, sickens thousands in Pakistan 10 November 2017 - Two weeks of thick toxic smog has disrupted normal life in parts of Pakistan, with flights canceled, road accidents surging and nearly 15,000 people being hospitalized in and around Lahore, officials said on Friday (10 November). The Pakistani crisis is part of a wider smog emergency that has hit neighboring India, forcing authorities in New Delhi on Friday to plan to spray water over the city. (more) New government school blown up in Pakistan's restive northwest 20 February 2016 - Militants blew up part of a newly constructed government school in Pakistan's South Waziristan region late Friday night, a spokesman for a wing of the Pakistani Taliban said on Saturday, the latest in a string of attacks on educational institutions. 'We have blown up the school because it was a government installation' said Azam Tariq, a spokesman for an arm of the Pakistani Taliban known as the 'Sajna' group, which claimed responsibility for the attack, warning the group would continue to attack government targets. Twenty people were killed and dozens wounded last month when militants launched an attack on Bacha Khan University in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a little more than a year after Taliban gunmen massacred 134 students at a military school in nearby Peshawar. (more)