I bid farewell from the Editorship of Pakistan Orthodontic Journal as my tenure comes to an end and will be succeeded by the new Editor-in-Chief, nominated by the incumbent council. It has been an honor and privilege for me to have had the opportunity to lead this prestigious Journal for the past 5 years. My tenure has been challenging, largely due to the enriching interactions I have had with so many colleagues, my fellow editors and the management.
I was privileged to join the Journal at an exciting juncture and follow its momentous transformation over the last decade. During this time, advances in information technology were incorporated into scientific publishing and orthodontics has benefitted from all the resulting developments. The electronic submission and review system also facilitated the diversification of the board of Associate Editors, allowed reviewers to easily participate in the peer-review process and made it convenient for researchers to process their submissions.
The continued success of this Journal would not have been possible without the contribution, dedication, and support from a wide group of friends and colleagues. First, there are the Senior Associate Editor and the Associate Editors with whom I have worked closely throughout the years. These truly distinguished members of the editorial family handle the peer-review process with professional expertise and sound judgment. I am grateful to them for their conscientious efforts and devotion to the Journal. Without their important contributions, it would not be possible to maintain the Journal's standards of publication. Additionally, I take this opportunity to thank the entire Editorial Board.
Last but not least, the continued success of this Journal is only possible through the combined cooperation of authors and reviewers of the orthodontic community. Without their contributions there would be no journal. I owe thanks to the authors for their high-quality work and to the reviewers (most of them overworked) for their dedication to the time-consuming but valuable peer-review process.
Finally, the journal continues to count on the important contributions from the orthodontic community to make it a stronger, higher impact journal in the coming years. In turning the reins over to the new Editor-in-Chief, I look forward to the future of Pakistan Orthodontic Journal with great expectations, knowing that the Journal will be in very good hands.
Professor Haroon Shahid Qazi