LAHORE: Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) Chairperson Prof Dr Shahid Munir says researchers from different disciplines should work together to provide protection to wild animals and highlight the problems of environmental pollution.

He was addressing the inaugural session of the 41st three-day International Pakistan Congress of Zoology organised by the Punjab University Institute of Zoology in collaboration with the Zoological Society of Pakistan.

PU Faculty of Life Sciences Dean Prof Dr Javed Iqbal Qazi, Zoological Society of Pakistan President Prof Dr Abdul Rauf Shakuri, Secretary Abdul Aziz Khan, internationally renowned scientists, researchers, faculty members and students were present.

PU Institute of Zoology’s Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali was given the best zoologist of the year award for his services in the Department of Life Sciences, while Prof Dr Muzaffar Ahmed got the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr Munir congratulated the scientists for achieving awards and said the present century was the century of biological sciences. He added that times had changed and now the protection of wildlife was not the responsibility of zookeepers alone. He urged the scientists from different fields of science in PU to play their role to work on genetic changes in Pakistan.

He said the country’s economy could be strengthened by developing the livestock sector and expressed hope that researchers would benefit from each other’s research and experiences to improve the quality of life of humans and animals in the three-day congress.

Dr Abdul Rauf Shakuri and Dr Javed Iqbal Qazi also spoke.

Later, a five-member delegation from Umm Al-Qura University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led by the Vice President Prof Dr Fahd bin Ahmed Al-Zahrani visited Punjab University.

PU Faculty of Information and Media Studies Dean Prof Dr Khalid Mehmood, Director External Linkages Dr Sobia Khurram and others were present on the occasion.

Souvenirs were presented to the delegation.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2023