Women-oriented CSOs in a Fragile State: A Gendered Review of State-Civil Society Imbroglio in Pakistan's History

State-Civil Society relations in Pakistan have seldom been far from problematic and when it comes to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working for women empowerment and gender equality the relations with the state become highly adverse. According to several researches gender insensitivity is often an important characteristic of fragile states. In this context, this paper seeks to explore the role of CSOs working for women empowerment in the history of Pakistan and their relationship with the state of Pakistan. It also tends to assess whether an improvement in this relationship can possibly help to diminish the fragility of the Pakistani state. The paper is based on qualitative research with an analytical approach and has been completed with the help of interviews with relevant persons and overview of related material in print and on line.

Study of Genetic Variantsin Cryaagene in Diabetic Patientswith Cataract

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that brings intricacies in different organs of human. Eye is one of the organs affected by diabetes mellitus. Cataract is one of the ocular complications faced by the diabetic patient, regardless of the significant development in the field of medical sciences. Cataract is increasing gradually but there is no proper treatment except surgery. CRYAA gene plays a vital role in the maintenance and development of lens due to the presence of alpha crystalline protein. CRYAA gene code for crystalline protein which is comprises of 80-90 percent of soluble protein in lens that is exclusively required for lens stability and transparency. CRYAA gene is located on chromosome 21 and encodes 173residue protein. We conducted this study to check mutation in the exon 1 and exon 2 of CRYAA gene in diabetic cataract patients. Fifty patients were considered for this study. They were classified into two groups. One group with patients of diabetic cataract, whereas the other group was including diabetic patients without cataract. Blood of patients were collected from Razia eye foundation hospital Jhelum after obtaining written consent. Blood was collected for DNA extraction then Polymerase chain reaction was performed to amplify the exon 1 and exon 2 of CRYAA gene as a preliminary step for sequencing by using Sanger sequencing method. The sequencing analysis results indicate no mutation in the exon 1 and exon 2 of CRYAA gene. In the present study, we found that exon 1 and exon 2 of CRYAA gene are not associated with diabetic cataract.