TIMERGARA, Feb 10: University of Malakand Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Jehandar Shah has urged the students passing out of the university to serve the country with devotion, dedication and sincerity.

He was addressing the first-ever convocation of the university held here on Saturday. The convocation was attended by former students, their parents and area notables.

Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Ali Mohammed Jan Aurkakzai was to be the chief guest on the occasion, but he could not reach the university due to rough weather.

Dr Shah said the University of Malakand ranked among prominent universities of the country, where students had been enrolled for PhD as well.

Later, the vice-chancellor distributed gold medals, degrees and merit certificates among the students.

Those awarded with gold medals included Mohammed Ayaz, BS (Hons) Pharmacy; Haseena Gulzar, BS (Hons) Biotechnology; Fakhruddin, BS (Hons) Computer Science; Zakia Bibi, BS (Hons) Mathematics; Waqar Ahmad, BA (Hons) Sociology; and Mohammed Israr BA (Hons) English.

Other students receiving gold medals included Sumaira, Humaira, Safiat Falak, Salma Jabeen, Seema Begum, Ghulam Said Khan, Shahid Ali, Adil Khan, Ataullah, Shahid Ayub and Ataur Rahman.

These students had bagged first position in university examination held between 2002 and 2006.