KARACHI: Federal Minister for Science and technology Fawad Chaudhry has said that recent Pakistan’s initiative to highlight the Kashmir issue in the international community got weakened due to the sit-in protest of JUI-F.

He pointed out that there was no comparison between PTI sit-in and the recent JUI-F, as PTI first knocked on the doors of courts and commissions. After making all the efforts, PTI was forced to observe a sit-in protest.

While talking to media after inaugural ceremony of the four-day 7th International Symposium-Cum-Training Course on Molecular Medicine and Drug Research held on Monday at the Prof. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui Auditorium, organized by at Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), University of Karachi (UoK).

Fawad Chaudhry said that the problem of drinking water in Karachi will be resolved in the next 16 months. The recent sit-in protest of JUI-F has diminished the attention of the international community towards Kashmir issue, he lamented.

Federal Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry said that the federal ministry of science and technology had made a 600 percent increase in its development budget. Pakistan is heading towards the manufacturing of solar and lithium batteries, as Chinese companies ready to set up solar energy plants in Pakistan, he said.

Earlier, addressing to the ceremony, Fawad Chaudhry also welcomed the large number of foreign delegated, and said that he was pleased to see a large number of foreign scientists participating in the prestigious symposium. This major science event is indeed an important step forward towards a better understanding of diseases at the molecular level and towards developing safe and effective drugs against prevailing disorders, he added.

Vice-Chancellor University of Karachi Prof. Dr. Khalid Mehmood Iraqi, Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, Chairman, Prime Minister’s National Task Force on Science and Technology, Chairperson Dr. Panjwani Memorial Trust Ms. Nadira Panjwani, Chairman Husein Ebrahim Jamal Foundation Mr. Aziz Latif Jamal, Director ICCBS Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, French scholar Prof. Dr. Georges Massiot, Greek scientist Prof. Dr. Ioannis P. Gerothanassis, German scientist Prof. Dr. Bertram Flehmig, and the Symposium Coordinator Dr. Asmat Salim also expressed their views in the inaugural ceremony.

Federal Ministersaid it is imperative for students of pure sciences to study the ideas of philosophers and social thinkers to know the science of society.

He said that it’s an honour for us that over 700 scientists, including 100 scientists from 35 countries, including Turkey, Iran, Iraq, China, Egypt, Syria, Italy, Nigeria, Greece, USA, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, New Zealand, Hungry, Indonesia,  Jordan, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Sudan, Thailand, Oman, Cameron, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal etc. are attending the international event.

Fawad Chaudhry pointed out that science and education come first in the priorities of the government, as the science & tech ministry was going to create strong coordination among the country’s best 15 research institutions for the promotion of science and research culture.

Around 600 percent increase in the budget of science and technology showed the sincerity of the government towards science and research. He informed the participants that the government also is prioritizing the education at school and college level.

The university’s vice-chancellor, Prof. Khalid Iraqi said that there was a pressing need to prioritize training programs for our young scientists. We are confident that this international event will not only help in generating scientific interest of young scholars in extremely important field health care research, but also foster productive linkages between the scientists beyond the national boundaries, he said.

Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman said that science was about building bridges between the countries. This science conference is not only about quality and excellence but also about friendship and cooperation between many nations.

Talking about the government’s current initiatives in science and technology, he said that 200 billion rupees had been approved for two ministries. As many as 27 mega projects have been initiated to foster science, research, and education in the country. These government projects will help the nation in harnessing the benefits of modern science.

Ms. Nadira Panjwani welcomed the participants to the MMDR-7, said that the Dr. Panjwani center initiated a number of scientific programs with the objective to find possible treatments of often neglected and prevalent diseases of Pakistan, as well as associated human resource development.

Mr. Aziz Latif Jamal said that the organization of such prestigious science events was extremely important in not only connecting Pakistan’s scientific community to the rest of the world, but also in show-casing the scientific research conducted in Pakistan.