Freedom of the Press: The War on Words (1977-1978)

Journalism in Pakistan has passed through successive phases of trials and tribulations. The crises journalism had to undergo since independence had their origin both in the state policies as well as the authoritarianism embedded in the society. The book under review does not claim to divulge into the societal challenges which have emerged more visibly in the last three or four decades, especially, in the context of the spread of religious extremism and ethnic and other types of militancy in the society. Studies need to be done on these aspects as well as the external factors that have had impact on the growth and the content of media. The latter has come in the garb of globalization that has greatly affected the local environment and has come to strongly affect, if not directly dictate, what the media should encompass and present. Leaving the societal and global aspects aside, the role of the state and the successive governments has a lot to offer to be written about by way of what the media has endured in the last seventy plus years. It doesn’t need too much of pondering to conclude that the major pressures over media have come from the governments who, by and large, had been quite at unease with independent flow of information, and criticism of their policies. And, unfortunately, this process had begun right after Independence when newspapers’ and periodicals’ independent voice was tried to be silenced, and they were pressurized to toe the official line with respect to domestic and foreign policies. Pakistan’s independent journey, unfortunately, began with the imposition of black laws which prohibited dissent and curtailed freedom of expression in the strongest possible manner.

Molecular Detection and Charaterization of Escherichia Coli Isolated from Raw Cow Milk Samples Collected from District Muzaffargarh

Milk is generally considered as highly nutritious and useful food for all age groups as well as inexpensive and widely available. However, its quality and microbial content are the features which have to be observed. The quality of milk depends on its biochemical composition and hygienic conditions during the collection of milk and its distribution. Milk itself acts as best medium for enhancing the growth and development of different types of microbes because of its composition and presence of water in large quantity. Milk sold in Muzaffargarh district was suspected to be contaminated because of repeated outbreaks of gastroenteritis. In this context, the research was designed to rule out molecular detection and quantitative analysis of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the milk samples obtained from various tehsils of Muzaffargarh district. E. coli were considered as the most prevalent bacteria of milk and could be the most probable microbe causing this disease. In this research, 100 raw milk samples were gathered in a way that 10 samples each were collected from Jutoi, Alipur, Kotadu, Murad Abad, Choak Qureshi, Ahmadpur, Rohilan Wali, Shahjamal, Khanpur and Muzaffargarh city. Then the samples of milk were cultured on different culture media for bacterial segregation. Identification of bacterial specie was done through gram?s staining and properties of bacterial culture on different selective media. Biochemical tests were also performed which include catalase and coagulase tests. Final identification was performed through PCR and resolution of PCR products by gel electrophoresis. Antibiotic sensitivity test was also performed so as to confirm the susceptibility of E. coli regarding multiple antibiotics. Out of 10 samples collected each from Jutoi, Alipur, Kotadu, Murad Abad, Choak Qureshi, Ahmadpur, Rohilan Wali, Shahjamal, Khanpur and Muzaffargarh city, results had shown the presence of E.coli in 4(40%), 6(60%), 3(30%), 2(20%), 4(40%), 5(50%), 3(30%), 4(40%), 6(60%) and 5(50%) samples respectively. E. coli isolates were amplified by PCR based on 16S rRNA gene. Results of antibiotic sensitivity test revealed that E. coli isolates had shown resistance to amoxicillin (85%) and erythromycin (72%). However, they were found to be affected by azithromycin (53%), ciprofloxacin (86%), gentamicin (86%), norfloxacin (80%) and streptomycin (66%). Resistant pattern in relation to broad spectrum antibiotic (i.e., amoxycillin) points to a situation which should be considered carefully and suggests that indiscriminate use of antibiotics for precautionary or therapeutic purposes should be avoided as it could be the cause of increasing antimicrobial resistance.