Are the "guilty" really "guilty"

CONVOCATION OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS PAKISTAN, KARACHI <!--[if gte mso 10]> CONVOCATION OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS PAKISTAN, KARACHI Speech By Mr. Justice Ajmal Mian, Chief Justice of Pakistan Prof. Ijaz Ahsan, President, College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, Members of the College Council, newly admitted members, ladies and gentlemen! A.O.A. I am grateful to Prof. Ijaz Ahsan and other members of the Governing Body of the College for inviting me to preside over 34th Convocation for the award of MCPS Diplomas to the students of this Prime Medical Institution of Pakistan. I have special liking for the medical profession. I may divulge that when I was a child, my ardent desire was to become a doctor. I recollect that in or about 1945 when my mother was going for Haj with her parents, I whispered into her ear and requested her to pray for me in the House of God that I should become a doctor. When she came back after performing Haj, I enquired from her as to whether she remembered my request in the House of God. Her reply was that she had prayed for me that I should become what would be the best in my interest. Apparently my mother's above prayer was acceded to by the Almighty Allah. However, I continue to have soft corner for the medical profession which is manifested by the fact that my three children have adopted medical profession. It is a matter of great satisfaction that in a very short span of time this College has achieved distinction of providing post-graduate medical education of international standard. I am sure that with the passage of time, the standard will further improve. Our doctors have excelled in various disciplines of medicine inter alia in U.S.A. It is a matter of national pride that in U.S.A. some white people preferred Pakistani doctors over their own doctors. I fully subscribe to Professor Ijaz Ahsan's view that "if our society can just set its priorities right, this country can yet become a paradise". The Allah Almighty has bestowed on this country all the prerequisites of becoming a great country/a great nation. This we have proved by detonating the nuclear devices on 28th May, 1998. What we need is that wherever we are, whatever position we are holding, we should work hard, honestly to the best of our ability, keeping in view the paramount interest of our beloved country and also the fact that we are accountable to our Creator from whom nothing is hidden. A convocation ceremony is a significant event and memorable occasion in the life of those post-graduates whose hard work is formally recognised through the award of degrees and certificates. For them, it is certainly a sober and sombre occasion, a moment of pride and jubilation, as their hard work has paid off and they are duly rewarded for the same. Accordingly, I would like to extend my warm greetings and heartfelt felicitations to all the recipients of today's awards, which indeed they richly deserve for a task accomplished and done well. With their training, they now have the added advantage of enhanced theoretical knowledge and practical experience, both invaluable assets for a practitioner in any field of life. Convocation, however, is also an occasion for reflection--a time to make new determinations and fresh commitments, and what could be a more befitting determination and commitment but to pledge to serve mankind, mitigate the pain and 'sufferings of people and balm their wounds and injuries. Come to think of this unique service--indeed a divine quality and prophetic practice embodied in ordinary mortals--a medical practitioner can never ever be adequately compensated monetarily, for the selfless service and devotion to the ailing humanity, providing those, in agony and pain, succour and relief. For services of this nature, indeed true reward can be conferred only by God Almighty. Many Qura'nic verses and traditions of our holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) lay emphasis on looking after the ill, infirm, diseased and wounded, to alleviate their sufferings and give them comfort and relief. Human life is stated to be most precious and' its protection is binding on all human beings. The Holy Qur'an ordains, " ..Whosoever killeth a human being for other, than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind". Similarly, the loss of human life is stated to be an abominable act and most heinous offence. Says again, the Holy Qur'an, "who so saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind". This Qura'nic injunction explains how much sacred, sacrosanct and valuable human life is and should be respected. The medical profession is noble and distinguished because it gives solace and comfort to the people in pain and distress. It entails sacrifice and commitment to the job. It imposes extremely stringent conditions and onerous responsibilities on medical practitioners. They are required to operate under strict discipline and scrupulous compliance with the prescribed code of conduct. Such code has long been prescribed for them by the father of modern medical science, namely, Hippocratic. His Hippocratic Oath prescribes an extremely high standard of conduct and behaviour for a medical practitioner. A practitioner is required to provide, "beneficial treatments, according to his abilities and judgment". He is also ordained to, "refrain from causing harm or hurt", and is further required, "to live an exemplary personal and professional life". Before concluding my address I would like to draw your kind attention to the fact that as in other walks of life, so in medicine, there seems to be an increasing tendency towards satiating material needs hence the trend towards commercialization of the profession. To maintain the solemnity of the medical profession, the above tendency is to be checked by the Pakistan Medical Council/Associations. I am sure that the recipients of the award of MCPS Diplomas today would not succumb to the above menace and would maintain a high standard of morality and of code of conduct. In conclusion, let me thank, once more, the organisers, for inviting me to this function and I again wish best of luck to the recipients of the awards. God bless you all! Thank You. ***