Being human means you will make mistakes. And you will make mistakes, because failure is God's way of moving you in another direction. – Oprah Winfrey

---

Tragic death of Sabika Sheikh

The incident has become weeks old. Soon, it will be considered old enough to be piled on an overloading stash of tragic deaths, yet the pain will still live on. The 17-year-old Pakistani exchange student, was among the 10 unfortunate victims of the school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas. She was another name amalgamated to a list of victims to America’s sick gun culture, which has taken the lives of many. It is ironic that the Americans cite Pakistan as the most dangerous country to live in the world post 9/11, yet it was a young and innocent Pakistani student gunned down by an American terrorist, in an American land. We hope that in future, the Sabikas of Pakistan will not suffer the same fate as this fallen star and will be remembered not because of their tragic deaths, but because of their achievements in life.

Alia Ahmed,
Islamabad

Local production of pharmaceuticals

The local production of pharmaceuticals is one of the crucial issues of Pakistan which is increasing at an alarming rate. In many parts of the country the process of local production is expanding day by day. The illiterate community of our society has a major role in it. The use of local ingredients or substances is not suitable to be consumed and is risky for patients. It also causes many side effects and sometimes severe reactions which are not safe at all. It also results in birth of terrible diseases and complications. The motive is to access the high manufacture and use of local medications which are not safe and healthy for a society and must be ceased as it is high time now.

Sarosh Sultana,
Karachi

Forgotten essence of Ramadan

Gone were the days when Ramadan was a month to rejoice. It was no less celebratory than the festival of Eid, with people gearing up for the month with earnest devotion. It was a common sight to see commoners marching down the packed roads, distributing boxes of packed eatables for iftar to passersby and commuters. Now, it’s a fairly rare sight. Brands and TVCs used to dedicate their campaign to impart important values to the viewers. There was a compassion, sacrifice, fervour and love in the atmosphere. But all of this seems like a thing of the distant lost past.

Mian Mehmood,
Lahore

Tarnished and forgotten Urdu Literature

Recently, I visited a well-known book store in my locality which had an annual book sale ongoing. As I wandered through the aisles of books hunting for Urdu poetry books, I observed that flocks of youngsters busied themselves scanning all the English titles. Majority of them bought English novels and magazines, none of them even forgetfully wandered off to the Urdu section, where hundreds of books laid in piles, untouched and etched in dust. When I asked the shop keeper of the unkempt state of those books, he revealed that no one stops by the Urdu books and they haven’t sold a single Urdu book in months. In fact, very soon shop owners will be removing the Urdu section from the bookstore. As I head home, I came to a wistful realisation that Urdu literature is indeed fading away; the blossoming youth of our time refuses to acknowledge and read the gems of their mother tongue. I wish Urdu gets its wave of a much-needed revival and not such wither away like fallen leaves.

Haya Arsalan,
Islamabad