Arfa Karim laid to rest

Computer programming prodigy Arfa Karim Randhawawas was laid to rest in her ancestral graveyard in Faisalabad, here on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, her funeral prayers were offered in Lahore. Many prominent leaders, including Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Corps Commander of Lahore, along with a large number of other people, attended Arfa’s funeral prayer at Al-Khalid Masjid in Cavalry Ground, Lahore.
After the funeral prayers her body was sent to her native village Ram Divali in Faisalabad for burial. Arfa’s parents, relatives, and many others accompanied her body to attend the burial ritual.
The young computer programming genius, Arifa Karim Randhawa, died at Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Lahore on Saturday night.
The 16-year-old girl, who seven years ago became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional in the world, was on life support after suffering an epileptic attack. She remained hospitalized for 26 days.
Upon learning of her illness, Microsoft founder Bill Gates offered special assistance for Arfa’s treatment, however she could not be shifted to the US due to her critical condition.
Arfa was only nine years, nine months and 11 days old when she became the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional — a qualification usually gained by IT professionals and software developers — after demonstrating her proficiency with the company’s software.
She was invited by Bill Gates to visit the Microsoft Headquarters in USA.
In August 2005, Arfa Karim received the Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of science and technology. She also received the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award again in August 2005.
She was also the recipient of the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. She was the youngest recipient of that award ever.
Arfa represented Pakistan on various international forums, invited by the IT Professionals of Dubai for a stay of two weeks in Dubai.
She also flew a plane in a flying club in Dubai at the age of 10, and received the first flight certificate.
In November 2006, Arifa was invited by Microsoft to be a part of the keynote session in the Tech-Ed Developers conference held in Barcelona.
The theme of the conference was “Get ahead of the game” and Arfa was presented as a true specimen of being ahead of the game. She was the only Pakistani among over 5,000 developers in that conference.