Historically, women in Pakistan’s northwestern territories bordering Afghanistan have played a critical role in providing money and men to jihadist organizations such as the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria” (ISIS). Lack of education, too little exposure and a male-dominated conservative milieu constitute some of the ingredients of support for these outfits. This was true for over three decades and the phenomenon remained restricted to the rural, backward northwestern regions. But since the early 1990s, outfits such as the Al-Hudda Foundation – an exclusively women-focused organization – began serving as the initial hooks for middle- and upper-class women whom the Foundation targets. It brainwashes women into using hijab, and also into believing that they need to forge an alliance against the West and work for an Islamic, Sharia-based state. This advocacy turns many affluent women into religious radicals who can potentially work as the first line of recruits for extremist outfits like Daesh/IS. However small their numbers, these women represent a big threat to the global liberal values of society.

Introduction. Edible wild plants are nature’s gift to mankind. Considering the growing need to identify alternative bio-nutritional sources, some underutilized species of figs (Ficus carica L., F. palmata Forssk., F. racemosa L.) and mulberries (Morus alba L. , M. nigra L, M. laevigata Wall.) of the family Moraceae were evaluated as wild edible fruits to study their nutritive and mineral composition in order to prioritize their edibility for indigenous people. Materials and methods. The major proximal components (moisture, ash, lipids, proteins, fibers and carbohydrates) were determined by standard AOAC methods. The concentration of various minerals (K, Ca, Mg and Na) and trace elements (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and Ni) were recorded by using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results. Our results indicated a range of moisture contents from 17.82–80.37 g·100 g–1 (fresh weight basis) in F. carica-M. laviegata; protein, 6.31–13.50 g·100 g–1 (dry weight basis) in F. glomerata-M. alba; crude fats, 1.02–2.71 g·100 g–1 in F. palmate-F. glomerata; carbohydrates 69.47–75.58 g·100 g–1 in M. alba-M. nigra; and fiber 7.63–17.81 g×100 g–1 in M. laviegata-F. palmate, respectively. The significantly highest energy value was computed in M. laviegata (367.7 kcal·100 g–1). Moreover, sufficient quantities of essential elements were found in all the studied materials. The highest levels of N [(0.24 ± 0.07) mg·g–1] and Fe [(1.43 ± 0.42 mg·g–1] were found in M. laviegata; Na [(1.92 ± 0.11 mg·g–1] and Mg [(6.92 ± 0.37 mg·g–1] in F. palmate; and K [(17.21 ± 0.03 mg·g–1] in F. glomerata. Significant variation existed among the selected species in all the nutritional parameters. Conclusion. According to our results, fig and mulberry fruits are recommended for commercial-scale production for the green industry to overcome food crises as they are potential food sources, particularly Morus laviegata and Ficus palmata, with rich nutritional attributes and mineral profiles.

Introduction.Barberry (Berberis aristata DC.), a small fruit,is found growing in the wild in the temperate region of northernPakistan. Materials and methods. Three different locations ofAzad Jammu and Kashmir, i.e., Topa, Banjosa andNeriyan Sharif, were explored; thirty accessions of barberry wereidentified and characterized on the basis of their growth habit,flowering, fruiting and chemical composition of fruits. Results.The accessions exhibited high diversity in their phenotypical/morphologicaltraits such as growth habit, intensity and time of flowering, fruitsetting, ripening time, productivity, and fruit shape and color.The location had a great impact on quantitative parameters. Accessionscollected from Neriyan Sharif had significantly greater plant height,higher number of branches per plant, extended flowering duration(days), took more time to maturity (days) and had high fruit setting (%),while those from Topa had large-sized leaves and fruits with greateraverage fruit weight. The nutritional composition of fruits indicatedthat the accessions from Topa had higher carbohydrate, ash, total solublesolids and Mn contents, with significantly higher juice pH, andlower acidity; while the accessions from Neriyan Sharif had significantlyhigher moisture, protein, fat, fiber, K, Ca, Na, Fe, Cu, Pb andCr contents and were highly acidic. The accessions collected fromBanjosa were almost intermediate for the quantitative characteristicsstudied. Conclusions. The results suggested that notonly the genotype but its growing location as well are the mainfactors that determine the growing habit, productivity and nutritionalcomposition of barberry fruits, and this ultimately provides importantinformation on how to make the best use of them.

This study aims to characterize Azikheli, an undocumented buffalo breed, in its home tract (Khwazakhela, Swat, Pakistan) under traditional farming conditions. For this purpose, 108 buffalo cows and 27 bulls were randomly selected. Mean, standard error, Student's t test and Chi-square test were used for various comparisons. The results show that the majority of animals have a brown coat colour. Cows have significantly higher heart girths, longer horns, longer necks and wider faces at the level of the eyes than bulls, whereas bulls have significantly longer bodies, longer ears, thicker horns, thicker necks and larger hooves than cows. Horns are flat laterally, directed backwards and then slightly upwards without twisting, leading to a sickle to semi-sickle appearance. Owing to its small body size and brown coat colour, the breed is well adapted to mountain slope grazing and thrives well away from swamps. Its adaptation to mountainous ecosystems warrants its in situ conservation.