LAHORE -  Punjab Counter-Terrorism Minister Sardar Ayub Khan has said that rescuers are brave sons of the soil, who endanger their own lives to save others. He was addressing the passing-out ceremony of 1,311 male and female rescuers from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, held at the Emergency Services Academy on Thursday.

Sardar Ayub said that he himself had witnessed excellent professionalism, exhibited by rescuers, during accidents, floods and other disasters.

He also congratulated Director General Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) Dr Rizwan Naseer and his team on their continuous struggle towards ensuring a safer Pakistan.

He said that under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, the province had become prosperous and safe. He said that credit goes to Punjab government for expanding emergency service to all parts of Punjab. He said that over 1,600 rescuers had already been trained for other provinces from the National Centre of Excellence. He said the Punajb government had provided 500 ambulances of Health Department to Rescue 1122 for patient transfer service.

In his welcome address, Dr Rizwan Naseer congratulated the rescuers on completion of their professional emergency management training and appreciated the Punajb chief minister for expanding the service to all districts and tehsils of the province.

He said that the service has taken two initiatives this year including launch of Patient Transfer Service and Motorbike Ambulance Service, which will be operational in all divisions of the Punjab by the end of the current year.

Earlier, the passing out cadets demonstrated their professional skills during mock exercises of deep well rescue, water rescue, firefighting, urban search and rescue, rescue from confined spaces and rescue from height.

APP