President urges people for healthy lifestyle to serve country, avail upcoming opportunities

ISLAMABAD, Nov 13 (APP): President Mamnoon Hussain Sunday
urged the people, particularly the youth, to spend a healthy life by developing habits of exercise and hard work to better serve the country and take advantage of new opportunities to be created by the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
“First shipment of trade cargo is being shipped today from Gwadar Port. This will create new opportunities for the country. Now
Pakistan is destined to prosper. Keep yourself ready to benefit from these opportunities. For this you will have to keep yourself fit through a healthy lifestyle,” the president said addressing the participants of an awareness walk held in connection with the World Diabetes Day to be observed on Monday (November 14).
The theme of this year’s World Diabetes Day is ‘Eye on Diabetes’ and the activities will focus on promoting the importance of screening to ensure early diagnosis of type II diabetes and treatment to reduce the risk of serious complications.
The president urged the youth to strongly resist the corrupt elements to get maximum benefits from the CPEC as huge national resources had been eaten up by the corrupt elements.
The symbolic walk was arranged by the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University that was attended by hundreds of the people, including men, women and children with renowned figures including Minister of State for CADD Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Danish Ambassador in Pakistan Ole Thonke, Vice Chancellor of the university Dr Javed Akram and medical practitioners.
The president, who like other participants wore thematic white shirt and cap, told the audience that diabetes was a complex and painful disease that could be well tackled through changes in lifestyle.
He said today’s walk was also a part of this process of creating awareness and believed that such activities should also be organized at grassroots level to disseminate information about the importance of a healthy lifestyle so that more and more people were made aware of hygiene principles.
The participants, including the chief guest, carried placards, banners and flags inscribed with slogans and measures to prevent the diabetes with daily exercise as the most important.
President Mamnoon said the role and responsibility of an individual was of more importance than that of the state. “Healthy habits like use of boiled water, keeping utensils clean, diet control, walk and regular exercise can keep us safe from diseases,” he added.
He said children’s training at home played a central role but it was also necessary for the society to collectively play its role in which the medical institutions had more responsibility to share than other institutions.
The president, who along with other participants, also released white and blue pigeons, commended the efforts of the SZABM University to aware the people of certain diseases and assured the administration of his allout future assistance in this regard.
He also resolved to assist the efforts to counter tuberculosis as he said the disease was said to be re emerging in the country.
The president also switched on the blue lights that illuminated the Aiwan e Sadr with blue as part of awareness on the disease that is symbolized with the blue circle to show unity besides blue being the colour of the United Nations.
In his address, Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also called for adopting a healthy lifestyle to avoid contraction of disease what, if left unchecked, could prove to be mother of all diseases.
He also announced to set up a modern diabetes centre at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences that would cater for all the diabetic complications, besides providing modern treatment to the diabetic patients.
VC Javed Akram said around 16 per cent of the country’s population
was diabetic and number could be doubled within 25 years, if remedial measures were not taken.