RAHIM YAR KHAN, Nov 29: A girl student from the occupied Kashmir has won laurels by clinching the first position in the first professional examination conducted by the University of Health Sciences in 2006.

Samreen Saleem Khan of Shaikh Zayed Medical College has obtained 410 marks out of 550 marks. Sajid Husain has bagged second position with 408 marks and Ms Samina third by scoring 405.

The SZMC has also excelled on account of standing first in 10 medical colleges of Punjab with an aggregate 91 per cent results.

District Bar Association president Khalid Hashmat, as a chief guest, said at the prize-distribution ceremony held at the SZMC auditorium on Tuesday that the local students had won their home district laurels in the academic field.

He also lauded the services of the SZMC (Rahim Yar Khan) principal who, he said, stood firm against opposition to the establishment of the institute.

The college principal told Dawn that the girl from the occupied Kashmir had been staying at the SZMC hostel under a student exchange programme the governments of Pakistan and India had agreed upon.