Saturday, July 27, 2024

LETTERS

Late Prof. Zafarullah Chaudhry

We were deeply grieved on the sad demise of Prof. Zafar Ullah Chaudhry who was my teacher as an Assistant Professor at Nishtar, Multan in 1973/74. He served as the President, CPSP from 2005-2022 and made meritorious contributions in reframing governance, administration, educational system, e-log pattern of monitoring, synopses review, evaluation system, opening new regional centers, and regional and global linkages and collaborations to enhance accreditation and employability of Fellowship.
There’s so little one can do to mitigate grief in such circumstance. May Almighty Allah bless his soul in Jannah and grant courage to his family and the fellows to bear this irreparable loss, Aameen.

Maj. Gen. [R] Prof. M. Aslam Ph.D, FCPS
Professor of Physiology
House No.169, Street No.06,
Race Course Road,
Rawalpindi – Pakistan.
professormaslam@yahoo.com

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Review of Kalam-e-Natamam an autobiography

Dear Shaukat Jawaid Sahib,
I’m deeply honored by the comprehensive review of my autobiography, ‘Kalam-E Natamam.’ Your thorough examination and positive feedback leave no aspect unaddressed. As the book’s first edition is currently out of print, I would appreciate your permission to incorporate excerpts from your review into the next edition. Furthermore, I’m delighted to inform you that the book is now available for free download as a PDF from www.archive.org. Thank you sincerely for publishing this review, and May Allah grant you continued respect and recognition.

Prof. Tariq Saeed Mufti
Peshawar.

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It was a delight to read your detailed review of the book, “Kalam-e-Natamam” by Dr. Tariq Mufti. Having known Professor Emeritus Dr. Tariq Mufti for about four decades during his stay in Abbottabad, I found him to be a truly dedicated surgeon, academician, a born professor whose passion to teach is outstanding and beyond any contention. The detailed review of his book, “Kalam-e-Natamam” by none other than Mr. Shaukat Ali Jawaid, a well respected personality who has dedicated his life to medical journalism and the betterment of the medical profession as a whole, is a testimony to the fact that Professor Tariq Mufti’s book is one of the milestones in autobiographies ever written noted distinguished medical personalities. He didn’t feel ashamed to write even the incidents which some others would have not liked to mention in their books. He is a friend of friends, didn’t forget to mention his non-doctor friends from his early days spent in the streets of the historical city Peshawar.

His rich family tree, evident by the names of his elders (like his mother’s name, Mah Liqqa), speaks volumes about his educated background. This book should be a source of encouragement and a lesson for the younger colleagues and the public at large that to achieve a place in society and the profession is not an easy task, but one has to work hard under odd circumstances persistently and consistently.

Dr. Munawar Aziz MCPS
Abbottabad.
aziz.munawar@gmail.com 

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Pharma Payments to Physicians & Professional Ethics

Whatever the season, whatever the reason…..the one thing never changes is the quality of your reviews…….absolutely first class. Your April 15th-30th,2024 issue excel on two fronts….first, your visit to China and the accomplishment made by your good self. Congratulations, and the other outstanding review is OFF THE RECORD, on the subject: Pharma Industry payments to Physicians & ethical medical practice. The review is worth reading and is an eye-opener for everyone, it reminded me of your book: MEDICAL ETHICS IN THE CONTEMPORARY ERA ( First Edition, Published in 1995. I would like to reproduce the introductory para of the Preface; “ETHICS in Medicine is as inseparable an entity as motherhood from mother. And yet, Ethics is one field which is almost totally deficient in the contemporary world of medicine”. What is commendable here is your will and zest which is very much there with the same spirit. Hats off to you !!!

Qaiser Rehman
Karachi – Pakistan.

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Reason Response of Science

Enlightenment of scientific thinking and reasoning through rational inquiry underpins human well-being, health, and resilience against adversities. Despite this, societal disparities, nuclear proliferation, AI uncertainties, and acts of terrorism often lead to a pessimistic outlook on the present while idealizing a utopian future. This cognitive bias towards negativity is rooted in evolutionary psychology and the second law of thermodynamics, which dictate a higher probability of disorder over order.

Humanity’s response to these challenges has been marked by adaptation and innovation. From our ancestors’ adaptation to harsh environments to contemporary advancements in knowledge and problem-solving, there has been a shift from attributing misfortunes to divine punishments to understanding them as manifestations of entropy-driven processes. The period since the 17th century Renaissance has seen significant progress in longevity, health, happiness, and cultural enrichment, a switch from wealth collection to generation despite contemporary challenges such as commercialization of health and education and the impact of structural asymmetries and associated social media.

Although conflicts persist in certain regions, the world with some notable and egregious exceptions largely enjoys relative peace, with homicides surpassing casualties from wars. In such a situation, competency is required to understand the contradictions of crisis to derive solutions by the process of synthesis but to be remaining in motion.

In conclusion, the scientific inquiry and rational discourse over dogma and superstition ensures humanism, fostering joy with beauty through the unifying and binding forces of thought and language by offsetting forces of emotion response of science. Wilhelm von Humbold, Bertrand Russel, and Noam Chomsky defined the aim of education as nurturing the creative intellect of students with a higher reason to emotion ratio. This could be achieved through the integration of arts and science in the form of a proposed BABS degree competency leading to a doctoral thesis based on publications and defense using a Swedish model.

HR Ahmad and Kulsoom Ghias
Authors are Professors at
Aga Khan University Karachi and can be reached at
hrahmad.alrazi@aku.edu
kulsoom.ghias@aku.edu

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Eminent Physician with Great sense of Humor

This refers to the Off the Record column published in May 1st issue of Pulse International with the above title. Loved the narration and conversation.

Prof. Naeem Afzal
Lahore – Pakistan.

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