ISLAMABAD: The 7th death anniversary of the country’s computer prodigy, Arfa Karim Randhawa, was observed on Monday throughout the country.
Arfa was the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) at the age of nine, before dying on January 14, 2012.
Arfa was born in a small village near Faisalabad on February 2, 1995. She became an MCP at the age of nine after passing its exam, making her the youngest to achieve that record, and her name roared across the entire IT world for being the youngest to pass MCP exam.
Microsoft Corporation invited the young genius to America for a visit the same year following her achievement and represented Pakistan on various international forums, making her family and close relatives proud of her sheer achievements in such a small age.
In November 2006, Arfa attended the Tech-Ed Developers conference themed Get ahead of the game held in Barcelona on an invitation from Microsoft. She was the only Pakistani among over 5000 developers in that conference.
Even in such a small span of life, she piled up uncountable achievements. She also received the Pride of Performance award from the Government of Pakistan.
On August 2, 2005, she became the youngest person to receive a first flight certificate from Dubai Flying Club. She was presented the Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz on the occasion of 113th birth anniversary of Fatima Jinnah.
At the age of 16, Arfa passed away on January 14, 2012, in Lahore following an epileptic attack.
After her death, a commemorative postage stamp was also issued to recognise her achievements, by the approval of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on January 20, 2012.
