Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday urged healthcare professionals to stay committed to their noble profession by undertaking the responsibility towards the needy with compassion and empathy. Addressing a convocation ceremony of HBS Medical and Dental College, the deputy prime minister said that in the healthcare sector, the professionals should accord high priority to the needs of the deserving and should not forget the high values taught by Islam which emphasised making efforts for the betterment of others. Dar said that together, they could transform Pakistan into a developed and prosperous country among the comity of nations as the country had immense capacity. He said that the nation was resilient enough to overcome all challenges. He cited that when they formed the government, the country was on the verge of default, but they took drastic steps to ensure economic turnaround. The deputy prime minister further stressed upon making of sincere efforts to become a member of G20. “Things are turning around and Pakistan is not more in isolation among the comity of nations as claimed by certain critics,” he added. He also regretted that in the past, whenever the PML-N government strived to put the country on the path of progress and prosperity, some hidden hands tried to disrupt that journey. The foreign minister expressed confidence that the incumbent government under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif would take the country to a new level of economic prosperity as envisaged by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal. The deputy prime minister said that a committee had been working to address issues of the medical sector, adding it would assess healthcare demand and supply in the country, ensure quality education and propose policy measures to the prime minister. He also lauded the contributions of the private sector in imparting medical education, adding that a significant number of students were being graduated every year in the country. He also underlined the need to make further efforts to shape the younger minds for future challenges and said that coordination was crucial in shaping the new generation with skills. The future of the healthcare system in Pakistan was bright, he added. The deputy prime minister also wished success for the new medical graduates and reminded them that they were entering into a new phase of life full of challenges and opportunities. They had chosen a noble duty and profession as under Islamic teachings ‘saving a life tantamount to saving the whole humanity’, he advised.