F.P. Report
PESHAWAR / SWABI: Caretaker Prime Minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar here on Wednesday announced upgradation of Khyber Medical College (KMC) Peshawar and Ayub Medical College (AMC), Abbottabad as public sector medical universities.
The prime minister made the important announcement while addressing the 46th annual meeting of Association of Physicians of Pakistan Descent of North America (APPNA) organized by the alumni of Khyber Medical College Peshawar at Governor House. On the request of members of APPNA and its President Dr Arshad Rehman, Prime Minister Kakar said that practical work on upgradation of KMC and AMC as public sector medical universities should be initiated within 35 hours by the respective authorities.
Commending APPNA’s rich services for ailing humanity and continued long connection with people of their home country, the prime minister directed the Governor and Chief Minister Khyber Pakthunkhwa to give practical shape to upgradation of KMC and AMC to a full fledge medical universities keeping in view of people and APPNA demands.
While lauding services of students of both these medical colleges in healthcare services in the country as well as abroad, the prime minister said that Pakistani doctors serving in United States and others foreign countries were like an ambassador of Pakistan and their medical and surgical services besides philanthropy contribution during earthquake, floods and other natural calamities in Pakistan was highly praised worthy.
Prime Minister Kakar said that he was very pleased that Pakistani doctors, settled in America have established strong roots and bonds with their countrymen and helped Pakistan in every difficult situation.
He said that Pakistani doctors have proved their abilities and professionalism all over the world including USA and played a role of a bridge between Pakistani communities and American citizens while dedication towards duties and treating patients with friendly attitude and warmth was their hallmark. “Pakistani doctors are the best in the world and graduates of KMC doctors were known internationally for their hard work, professionalism and devotion in healthcare services,” he said.
On the request of APPNA President, the prime minister announced to recommend name of Dr Umar Taimur Atique, for Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the first non- American President of the College of Physician of America for his great services for Pakistan. Dr Umar Atique was the graduate of KMC Peshawar. The prime minister recalled his memories of spending time with friends at CEENA Hall hostel of KMC at Peshawar, saying that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s unique culture and civilization has impressed him the most. He also shared his views of the cancer pains through which his sister had passed through.
He said Peshawar was like his second home and regional languages including Pashto and Hindko in which great poets like Khushal Khan Khattak, Ghani Khan and Rehman Baba, besides others presented their inspiring poetry.
Dr Arshad Rehman, President APPNA said that the association was established in 1978 about 4,500 members from Pakistan mostly settled in USA and Canada today. He said the today’s meeting was the major event at Peshawar held after 18 years, adding APPNA is a non-political organization that constructed about 1,000 houses for last year’s flood victims of Pakistan and awarded 100 scholarships to KMC students per year besides donation of 5,000 cornea for poor eye patients of Pakistan.
Dr Arshad claimed that APPNA had provided about one million dollars assistance for COVID patients of Pakistan. The function was also addressed by dean KMC, Dr Mehmood Aurangzaib and others. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor, Haji Ghulam Ali, Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (Retd) Syed Arshad Hussain Shah, Information Minister KP Feroz Jamal Kakakhel, Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry and IGP KP Akhtar Hayat Gandapur besides doctors and members of APPNA attended in large number. Earlier, the prime minister was received by KP Governor. Both the leaders discussed matters of mutual interest with special focus on well being of people of the province.
Meanwhile, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq, calling the brain drain, a part of talent hunt, said those leaving Pakistan for better opportunities would eventually become a strength for the country, which ought to be encouraged.
The prime minister, in an interactive session with the students of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology, exemplified the Indian nationals who had left their country and returned as an asset to contribute to their country. Responding to a question about the measures taken by the government to stop the brain drain, he said those leaving the country were not going to vanish, rather they would seize better economic opportunities and skills, which should be encouraged.
He said after improving their skills and qualifications, they would become a valuable asset and product as the world was in search of talent. “I consider their journey a part of the talent hunt,” he added. He said there was no evidence of any dramatic surge in brain drain in the prevailing circumstances rather it was a continuous process of skilled, semi-skilled, and non-skilled people moving abroad for better economic opportunities.
He said the export of human resources was an important component of the country’s GDP. To a question about the arrest of Imran Khan, he said the state had an inherent right to apprehend those who violated the laws. He was arrested under certain laws, not by the PML-N, PPP or JUI, he added. He urged the educated class to also debate their political attitudes besides asserting their right to agitate.
Prime Minister Kakar called for adopting the “all of us” approach, in addition to encouraging qualitative discussions for betterment of the society. He said democracy should morph towards the performing democracy as the performance was the key indicator to judge the success of the democratic system. He said transitional democracies like Pakistan could not turn into settled democracies for not giving due focus on performance.
To another question, he said every individual was responsible for defending the ideological frontiers of the nation. He said Islam was not the name of a reactionary movement but a reformist movement that encouraged any type of dialogue that otherwise would impact society negatively. Responding to another query, he said no one, including the state, could suppress critical thinking, but being a critical thinker did not necessarily require being abusive in conversation.
“Unfortunately, critical thinkers are not being born. This is the tragedy. I am trying to find my Rousseau and Voltaire of my time,” he remarked. Asked about the reasons behind the low ratio of girls’ education, he said the situation would not change unless the people built influences voluntarily and started taking pride in the accomplishments of the girls as well, not merely the boys.
He said the change in the society’s attitude was of paramount importance as the government’s intervention alone would not suffice to overcome the situation. He assured that the State of Pakistan did not discriminate, on the basis of gender and the challenges of primary and higher education could only be tackled by the State through collaborations at the district and Tehsil levels. The prime minister said the academia-industry linkage was crucial for reaping the economic dividends as well as establishing an ecosystem to create opportunities for the graduates and fulfill corporate requirements.
Meanwhile, the Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar inaugurated a girl hostel at Ghulam Ishaq Institute of Engineering and Science (GIK) at Topi.
The Prime Minister unveiled the plaque to formally inaugurate the girl hostel. Senior officials of the Institute were also present. He was informed that the hostel had 91 rooms for accommodations of 180 students. The Prime Minister also planted a tree at the lawn of the institute.
Meanwhile, addressing at Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences (GIKI) in Topi area of Swabi, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Wednesday emphasized that focusing on science and technology was important to achieve goals of fast development in the country.
He said the institute was playing vital role in promotion of science and technology as it was preparing high quality graduates in a range of fields of engineering sciences. The prime minister recalled that when he visited GIKI for the first time in 1990s, he was much impressed by the not only the infrastructure of the institute but also the quality of education and energy of students.
He said Allah Almighty created human being for a noble cause. The ability to think, the ability to conceptualize things and seeking knowledge makes the human being different from the angels, he added. The prime minister said Pakistan was formed to have the prestigious educational institutions such as GIKI.
He also stressed the need to establish replicas of this institute in other parts of the country. He said he would try his best to establish GIKI campuses in all provinces of the country. The prime minister also commended the great work done by the faculty of the institute. He assured that the government would provide all out support to the institute in any of its initiative.
