UoL 16th convocation: Punjab CM praised for her health sector initiatives

LAHORE: Provincial Ministers for Health Khawaja Salman Rafique and Khawaja Imran Nazir attended the 16th Convocation of the University of Lahore as special guests.

The Vice-Chancellor Fatima Jinnah Medical University Prof Khalid Masood Gondal, Vice-Chancellor University of Child Health Sciences Prof Masood Sadiq, faculty members and a large number of students and parents attended the convocation. During the convocation, 225 fresh graduates were awarded MBBS and BDS degrees. Students who showed outstanding performance during the convocation were also awarded gold medals.

Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique, while addressing the convocation ceremony said: “Medical education is very important in Pakistan. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the journey of serving the people will continue.”

Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme, Chief Minister’s Dialysis Programme and Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant Programme are the flagship projects of the Punjab government. “Every individual is a star of the nation’s destiny, with the passion of which Pakistan can progress. Acquiring knowledge is very important for the consciousness of life.

The medical system of Punjab in Pakistan is, thank God, the best. Under the leadership of Mian Shehbaz Sharif, the foundation of Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Rawalpindi Medical University, Faisalabad Medical University and Nishtar Medical University was laid,“ he said.

Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique said that doctors are looked upon with great respect in our society. The medical faculty in Punjab is like a family.

The Punjab government is building Asia’s largest Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research in Lahore at a cost of Rs82 billion, while the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cardiology in Sargodha at a cost of more than Rs10 billion. Special attention is being paid to quality research in government medical universities of Punjab.

The faculty of the University of Lahore is highly professional. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the success of a doctor is hidden in the prayers of his patients. All our successes are due to our parents. May Almighty grant us the ability to serve Pakistan in the true sense.

Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir said that Almighty Himself has promised to provide sustenance. “If you want to ask the price of freedom, ask the people of Gaza. I hope you will not become strikers but doctors who serve humanity,” he said.

Khawaja Imran Nazir said that as per the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, 2500 BHUs are being revamped on the European model. The Punjab government is taking historic steps in the health sector.

In the past, many people came in the name of doctors to mislead the public and politics, but we did not see any job seekers. A state-of-the-art Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research is being built just a short distance from here, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025