Combatting Religious Extremism in Pakistan from the Youth Perspective

The rise of Islam, which emerged as a panacea for the world problems is seen as a problem itself by the west today. The reason for this blame is the rise of extremism and Islam phobia in the western societies. This has serious implicat-ions for personal, communal, national and international security. The involve-ment of youth in extremist exertions is very high. They are being more action-oriented, easy to be influenced by radical ideologies and as an agent for thrus-ting social change.  Keeping in consideration the role of youth in adopting to or combatting extremism, it is imperative to find the perception of this important population about the problem under investigation. The research study was conducted in six universities in the federal capital Islamabad to reach to the youth’s population. The research was guided by research questions that aimed at exploring students’ perception about extremism and its various dimensions. The researcher collected data through an open-ended questionnaire from 1840 students to seek an in-depth understanding of the problem. In order to increase credibility in the findings, the researcher conducted focused group interview with 12 young faculty members. The data from the questionnaires were conver-ted into percentages based on common themes. The interview data set were thematically analyzed to understand the causes of extremism and its suggested solutions. Recommendations were suggested to tackle the menace of extremism in Pakistan.  

Antidiabetic Activity of Polyherbal Formulation in Alloxan Induced Diabetic Rats

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood glucose level. Current study was designed to evaluate the effect of polyherbal formulation consisting of Swertia chirata (Chirata), Bunium persicum (Kala zeera), Artemisia absinthium (Afsanteen boti), Gymnema sylvestra (Ghurmar boti), Caesalpinia bonduc (kranjwa magz), Citrullus colocynthis (Kortumma), Sphaeranthus indicus (Mundi boti), and Cuminum cyminum (Safeed zeera) in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Qualitative phytochemical analysis, mineral analysis, proximate analysis and DPPH assay were performed for standardization of polyherbal formulation. Acute toxicity testing was also performed in order to adjust the dosage regimen. Sampling for different parameters was done at 0, 4th and 8th week of experiment to evaluate the effect of polyherbal formulation on diabetic rats through biochemical, antioxidant, histopathological and gene expression analysis. The effects of herbal formulation on different genes like Pdx-1, Ins-1 and IGF-1 involved in insulin signaling and Traf-4 and Mapk-8 involved in MAPK downstream c-Jun N terminal kinase (JNK) cascade were investigated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis to assess the underlying molecular mechanism of action of herbal formulation. The data was analyzed through analysis of variance (ANOVA). Based on significant results of ANOVA, DMR (Duncan’s Multiple Range) test was applied. The results have shown that polyherbal formulation played important role in the treatment of diabetes in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Polyherbal formulation produced anti-diabetic effect by reducing mean serum glucose (143.00±3.07) and increasing mean serum insulin levels (15.78±0.84) compared to diabetic group (+ve control) having mean serum glucose (518.00±5.31) and insulin levels (6.58±0.75) respectively at 8th week of treatment. Results of histopathological analysis of pancreas and liver showed that polyherbal formulation has potential to ameliorate the toxic effects of alloxan monohydrate. All the properties of polyherbal formulation make it a potential candidate for the treatment of diabetes. However, further research is required to elucidate its mechanism of action.