KARACHI, March 21: At least 3,500 doctors, including 500 lady doctors, flocked to the two-day 18th biennial convention of the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association that began here on Sunday morning.

At the inaugural session, the thematic lecture of the convention - whose central idea is Ahdina siratul mustaqeem (O God, show us the straight way) - was delivered by the president of 52-country Federation of Islamic Medical Association, Prof Aly A. Mishal.

Prof Mishal said, "As professionals, we seek guidance to follow the Islamic Medical Ethics in dealing with our suffering patients, their families, our communities, our Ummah and humanity at large."

He called for the establishment of distinguished medical institutions and organizations to serve various communities, Ummah and humanity. He urged medical practitioners to establish ways and means to work, cooperate, integrate, and organize our collaboration among colleagues, local and Islamic medical organizations all over the world.

He said that doctors could play a very important role in the reform of society. He added that medical practitioners were not only accountable to their patients but also to God. He said that doctors should not be afraid of societal pressures and should do their utmost to serve humanity.

The vice-chancellor of Rifah University, Prof Anis Ahmad, called for the reorganization, reconstruction and renaissance of Ummah in the face of global economic, social and cultural colonialism. "Intellectuals and professionals should address the ideological issues in their fields of specialization, creating an environment conducive to the development of human resource," he said.

PIMA organizing committee chairman Dr Abdul Ghafaar Billoo said the two-day event would focus on scientific, moral and ethical issues from the religious perspective in the existing materialistic environment.

He said that doctors should lay emphasis on ethics and added that the PIMA convention would give doctors an opportunity to discuss new ideas and interact with one another.