Islam is one of the Semitic Religions thus one of the greatest religions of the world, and it is not easy to present a complete description of this religion in a Compact Survey, as this book is. It is also not easy to understand the practical life of the Muslims without some knowledge of their religious-social life. For that, one needs to have a complete understanding of the principal institution of Islam. A compact exposition of Muslim institutions covers at least important aspects of Arab-Muslim life. Keeping in mind these facts, I have tried to deal with the origin, background, and the rise of Islam; the dogmas and the superstitions of the faith; the sources and practice of Muslim law, the family life; and Sufism. It packs an immense amount of information even though there are still other aspect to be dealt with. Concerning the life of the Prophet, it is well-known that Muhammad b. 'Abdullah was born about 570 C.E. in Mecca (al-Makkah), the son of a Korashite family. Orphaned early, he grew up under the care of his nearest relatives. His father had already died so he was brought up by his nearest relatives-his grandfather aand his uncle. He was a shepherd during his boyhood age. It is also reported that unlike other boys, Muhammad was thoughtful, rather than playful. At the age of about twenty-five, he became the business adviser of a famed widow named Khadija, who was fifteen years his senior. Eventually he became her third husband. We do not know much about his early religious life. He seems, however, to have begun early to meditate on the values of life, and to have had an unusually nervous, "high-strung constitution." At the age of forty, he started receiving the divine

A complete collection of Imam al- Husayn's discourses, both oral and written, from his first conversation with al-Walid b. 'Utba, the governor of Medina and Marwan b. al-Hakam, to the last words to leave his blessed lips of the day of Ashura. Find out the truth of Imam al- Husayn's mission in his own words With the original Arabic text, maps of Imam al-Husayn's journey and a commentary on each discourse.

A survey was conducted to explore the fuel wood species and timber producing species of Dir Kohistan Valleys, Pakistan. Consumption pattern and impact on the forest resources were also taken into consideration. A questionnaire was used as a survey instrument to obtain desired data. For this study 10 villages were randomly selected. In each village 10 persons were interviewed and they were randomly selected. Only one person was interviewed from a household. A total 100 respondent were interviewed. Studies revealed that 75 plant species belonging to 41 families are utilized as fuel wood and 41 species belonging to 25 families are utilized as timber. Bulk of plant species show multiple uses like Juglans regia wood is used for making furniture, gun woody parts, carving and as fuel. Root bark (Dandasa) is used for cleaning and sparkling teeth. Leaves are used by womenfolk for coloring lips (make-up). Nuts are edible and are traded to other parts of the country. The fruits are aphrodisiac and also used as dye. Decoction of leaves is given in eczema and intestinal worms. Used in naming i.e. Ghuz. Several species like Abies pindrow.

Pakistan is facing tremendous shortage of edible oils. The domestic edible oil production does't meet the need of the country. The total availability of edible oils was 2.381 million tons in 2007-08. Local production stood at 0.833 million tons, which accounted for 30.4 percent of the total availability while the remaining 69.6 percent was made available through imports at the cost of Rs. 71.882 billion. In this way, edible oil stood at the top in the import of food group and on number second after petroleum group in the total import. This huge drain on our hard-earned foreign exchange resources is a great challenge for our planners, agricultural scientists and extension workers. Any attempt to help in amelioration of this worsening situation is the need of the day. The traditional or conventional oilseed crops are rapeseed/mustard, sesame and groundnut, while non-traditional oilseed crops are sunflower, soybean and safflower. Among these crops rapeseed/mustard and sunflower have assumed special position in the agriculture economy of Pakistan. Much of the research efforts have been directed towards the improvement of these oilseed crops.

Physiological systems serve as a fascinating playground for the analysis techniques, which stem from the discipline of nonlinear dynamics. The essential non-linearities and the complexity of physiological interactions limit to the ability of linear analysis to provide full description of the underlying dynamics. This makes nonlinear analysis an invaluable tool for the analysis of physiological signals. Robust time series analysis measures are needed to quantify the dynamics of physiological signals.Despite of the fundamental difference in their regulation, the research in heart rate variability analysis has spurred the similar investigations in gait variability analysis.This study is methodological approach for quantifying the dynamics of heart rate and stride interval signals in health and disease. Two nonlinear measures: Threshold based acceleration change index (TACI) and normalized corrected Shannon entropy (NCSE) at different threshold values have been used to quantify the dynamics of heart and stride interval time series of healthy and diseased subjects.

Stolen Stripes and Broken Medals is a true account of the life of a Pakistani naval officer who despite reaching the star ranks and with outstanding record of service had to prematurely say good bye to his long career. In fact those achievements created enemies who ultimately staged the fatal conspiracy when he was at the pinnacle of his career and was just about to get his second star. The title of this book reflects as to how his hard earned stripes were stolen and his medals broken by no one other than the top brass of the Navy since he had refused to tell a lie to safeguard their personal interests. This book tells the story of his long naval career which was full of adventures, challenges, and achievements and of course the due recognition which he had earned through sheer hard work and dedication to the service. This is an eye opening account for those who want to see as to what happens to those who are upright and honest but without any backing in a country like Pakistan. It also reflects on what happens behind the close doors of the top leadership in the Armed Forces, who are trusted with nations' sacred duty. It is for the first time that someone has taken such a bold step to touch the untouchable, apprising his nation and those in the helm of affairs, expecting some positive outcome.

Pakistan has been subjected to numerous pulls an pressures since its independence. Despite being part of the US-led alliances, Pakistan was dismembered in 1971. With the end of the Cold War, the situation has gone from bad to worse and even after a long period of existence Pakistan's security remains threatened by the adversary. Consequently Pakistan has to spend much more on defence than her resources permitting. The only plausible way out for Pakistan is to look for Friends near Home who could act as the relief zones to off-set the potential threat and provide all possible assistance to safeguard her strategic security interests. Friends Near Home presents the realistic perspective, analysis and aspirations by someone from the soil which should interest the civilians as well as those in uniform. Focussing on Pakistan's strategic security options, the thesis succinctly examines the politico-strategic and maritime environment of the region which includes South Asia, South-West Asia and Central Asia with special reference to the North-West Indian Ocean Region milieu. The author has made a positive effort to analyse the viability and efficacy of the regional states i.e. Friends near Home, with a view to enhance Pakistan's security parameters. All this reflects author's vision of Pakistan into 21st Century and beyond. This book also presents the guiding principles for the regional as well as extra regional countries. Some bold thoughts and recommendations suggested in this book could serve as the stabilizing factors for the region and ultimately contributing towards the world peace and stability. Expansion of the Gulf Cooperation Council leading to the establishment of the EnlargedEconomic Cooperation Organisation is one such realistic but challenging proposition. Pakistan's envisaged maritime orientation should conveniently help attainment of this difficult but achievable objective. Those in power should carry this vision to the testing grounds for the sake of a promising future ushering a new era of cooperation and development in this resource-rich region, and striving together for world peace and stability.