ISLAMABAD - Secretary General of PML-Q and Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mushahid Hussain Sayed has said that young professionals should play an active role in the national development and policy-making process as the time has come to put an end to the decades-old grip of landlords and elites over national politics. He was addressing the launching ceremony of 'Young Professional Forum' here the other day. "The future belongs to the youth of Pakistan and through proper teamwork and homework they could become a harbinger of change in the country", Sayed said. He cited the example of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was a professional lawyer and by the sheer power of his personality created Pakistan. He said that true leadership demanded three basic qualities character, courage and vision. He also mentioned the examples of Nelson Mandela, Mao Zedong, Charles De Gaulle and observed that China had embarked upon a plan to empower its people through professional skills in 1978 and within a short span of 25 years, it produced almost 400 million world-class professionals. He lamented the fact that Pakistani politicians had attached great importance to the support of the USA, the establishment and property to gain power. "The key to success is professionalism and there is a need to evolve a strategy to bring professional people into the mainstream", the Senator noted. He said there was no dearth of talent in the country and given an opportunity, Pakistani professionals had excelled in field of science, technology and arts throughout the world. "Today, thousands of Pakistani doctors, engineers, IT professionals, architects and chartered accountants are serving in the United States, Europe and the Middle East and have earned a good name for the country", he said.   Senator Mushahid also highlighted the role of journalism in today's society and said great responsibility lay on the shoulders of the journalist community as a professional class.  MNA Nosheen Saeed, ex-MNA and renowned parliamentarian Farooq Ihsan Paracha, convener YPF Mirza Abdullah Baig and others also spoke on the occasion.