Eight quack centres sealed

LAHORE: Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) Friday sealed eight quackery outlets. The PHC teams visited 35 treatment centres and sealed outlets of five general quacks, two fake dentists and one homoeopathic clinic. These included Dental Hygiene Clinic, Muzammal Dental Clinic, Fatima Medical Centre, Zarina Munir Welfare Clinic, Adil Clinic, Doctor Medical Centre, Al-Hamed Medical Store and Waqar Homoeo Clinic.

A spokesperson for PHC said a robust anti-quackery campaign was being carried out across the province. “So far, the PHC has sealed over 20,600 business centres of quacks, out of which 4,813 were in Lahore,” he added.

KP delegation: A 12-member delegation from KP comprising professors and poets visited Punjab University as part of their culture exchange tour to Punjab on a special invitation of government of Punjab through Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC).

The delegation was led by Prof Abaseen Yousafzai of Islamia University Peshawar, while other delegates included Jehan Sultana, Rokhan Yosafzai and others. PILAC DG Dr Sughra Sadaf was also present. Punjab University Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Saleem Mazhar along with PU senior professors and poets received the delegation. Issues of mutual interest were discussed between the two bodies.

Speaking on the occasion, PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar said inter-provincial exchange visits should be organised regularly because they helped to bridge the distance and promote nationalism among all Pakistanis. He ensured his cooperation to enhance such cultural exchange visits.

The VC thanked Dr Sughra and Dr Saleem for making this exchange visit a success. In the meeting, issues related to national and local languages were pondered upon at a length and the participants emphasised that Urdu should be officially recognised and given due importance as the language of communication in Pakistan as per vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah while regional and local languages should not be crushed rather protected and promoted in a way that more words were added to Urdu dictionary from local and regional languages.

oath: The newly-elected office-bearers of the University of Okara (UO) Academic Staff Association (ASA) took oath on Friday with a pledge to make the university a hub of research-based activities and provide best possible academic services to the students.

According to a press release, UO Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Zakria Zakar administered oath to the office-bearers of the association, including President Dr Hamooodur Rehman, Vice-President Dr Fahim Arshad, General Secretary Muhammad Iqbal, Joint Secretary Ms Neelofer Shabir, Finance Secretary Rai Imtiaz Hussain and Office Secretary Inamul Haq.

The newly-elected body assured the VC that they would work hand-in-hand with the university administration in meeting future the academic targets and challenges. The VC said the student and teacher bodies in a university were meant to improve academic environment.