By Salman Siddiqui/Staff Reporter


The Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan cannot be resolved until the United States, Russia and other international forces get involved, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Qatar Mohammad Sarfraz A Khanzada observed in a speech on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day at the embassy on Thursday .
He said that there were close to 800,000 Indian troops in Indian-administered Kashmir, who commit atrocities against innocent civilians on a daily basis.
“Yet no one from the international community raises a finger because none of them have a major stake in the region.”
He wondered whether the situation had been different if Kashmir had extensive oil reserves. “Then maybe all international forces would have gotten involved just like the way they did in Kuwait in 1990.”
Guest speaker from Qatar University, Professor Farhan Mujahid Chak, called for an international conference in Doha on the Kashmir dispute. “We hope to arrange such an event by the end of this year so that the issue of Kashmir can be highlighted the world over,” Chak said.
He said he would like to invite leaders such as Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to attend the event.
Ambassdaor Khanzada assured Chak of extending his full co-operation and support for arranging such an event.
Muhammad Khan, CEO of Unicorn Company, also addressed the gathering that included prominent members of the Pakistani Kashmiri community.
In the end, the ambassador read out messages by the president and prime minister of Pakistan which called for the right of self-determination for the Kashmiri people as enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

Farhan Mujahid Chak, Professor at Qatar University, called for an international conference on Kashmir in Doha.
Leading the way to a healthy future
Students from 15 schools across Qatar will compete in a series of fun events at the Aspire Dome on March 16 as part of The Challenge, a unique competition for schools organised by Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q).
The Challenge is part of the college’s ‘Sahtak Awalan: Your Health First’ campaign. The vision is to educate the nation’s youth on how to lead a healthy life and inspire them to incorporate the information into their daily lives.
Dr Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCMC-Q, said The Challenge and the wider Your Health First campaign demonstrated that in addition to education and research, the college was also taking the lead in matters of health. “The Your Health First initiative is determined to support the country in achieving the aims of Qatar National Vision 2030 by helping create a healthy population able to make a meaningful contribution to a knowledge-based economy. We believe that Your Health First and The Challenge can assist us in this by engaging the country’s young people with education and physical fitness in an enjoyable way,” he explained.
“With the support of the Supreme Council of Health (SCH), the Supreme Education Council (SEC) and our strategic partners - Qatar Petroleum, Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd, ExxonMobil and Vodafone Qatar - we can help create a healthy and prosperous future for all our citizens,” the dean added.
The 15 schools were nominated to participate in The Challenge by the SEC. Representatives of these schools recently attended a meeting and Q&A session to prepare for the event. Each team will have 10 students.
Nesreen al-Refai, director of public affairs at WCMC-Q, said it was a pleasure to be working with the schools and great to hear their feedback on the initiative.
The Challenge is divided into two sections: education and physical fitness. The education segment has seen students research and design a poster based around healthy lifestyles. These posters will be displayed at an exhibition scheduled for around the beginning of March. The physical fitness dimension of The Challenge will be held at the Aspire Dome on March 16.
The event will begin with a parade of the competitors before the youngsters take part in a series of competitions. The activities have been titled Crazy Climber, Bird Cage Rage, Pendulum, Buzzy Bees, Vegetable Relay Race and Wacky Waiter Race. Boys and girls will compete separately to finish each challenge; the top three boys’ and top three girls’ teams will be awarded gold, silver and bronze. The top school will also receive a trophy.
The students involved are all from middle school and each one of them will receive a certificate of appreciation. The event will also feature interactive games and health professionals.
The participating schools are Omar bin Khattab Preparatory, Lebanese School, English Modern School, International School of Choueifat, Al Yarmouk School, Cambridge School, Qatar Academy, Amna bint Wahab Independent Preparatory School for Girls, Al Jazeera Academy, Lycee Bonaparte, Doha British School, Abu Bakr Assedeeq Boys’ Preparatory, Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib School, Abu Obaida School and Al Bayan Girls’ Preparatory School.
Yasser Mohamed Karkour, director of orientation and counseling at Abu Obaida School, said: “It’s a very good campaign. With time, it will get students thinking about their health.”
Solange Ahdab, an art teacher at the French school Lycee Bonaparte, said students had made 50 posters on various health topics. She also said the Your Health First poster competition had been incorporated into some of the work at her school.