Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday said that no country in the world can move on the road of progress, prosperity and development without investing in the education sector.
Addressing a laptop-distribution ceremony at Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), he said, “We have to invest a huge amount in the education sector to move on the road to progress, prosperity and development as no nation in the globe can attain glory without focusing and investing in the education sector.”
He distributed laptop computers among 25,000 students. “Students are the future and real asset of Pakistan. Young generation is our asset and the country’s future is in their hands, so they have to focus on study to make it Quaid and Iqbal’s Pakistan,” he added. He said information technology libraries have been established in 4,300 schools across the province. He urged the students to use laptop for research work. “I hope students will tell me through their computers that they have devised a strategy to take the country industry and agriculture forward. The government is well aware of the needs of modern times, which is reflective from that fact that it is equipping the students with modern technology end distributing laptops among male and female students across the province.”
Shahbaz Sharif said laptops have been distributed among the students throughout the province purely on merit. “There is total transparency in distribution of laptops and criticism for the sake of criticism is unjustified. The provincial government will send talented and shinnin gstudents abroad for higher education under the Endowment Fund of the Punjab Education Foundation.
The CM said the Punjab government has allocated Rs10 billion which would help assist deserving students in getting higher education in their respective fields. Around 3,000 brilliant students would be sent aboard for higher education. Next year, 300,000 computers would be given to the students who would show good performance in their respective fields, he announced. He said FJWU is providing education facilities to around 5,000 students from the 89 districts.
He also announced Rs 2.2 million for the construction of hostel. He said around 65 percent of the population consists of younger generation and PML-N is focusing on them to address their problems on priority.
The FWJU was established in 1998 and till now around 75,000 students have been awarded degrees in various categories. The chief minister also announced air-conditioned bus service in Rawalpindi as being operated in Lahore. Parliamentarians from PML-N, including Malik Shakeel Awan, Malik Abrar, Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, Mehtab Abbasi and Pervez Rashid were also present on the occasion.
Pakistanis united on fight against terrorism, says envoy: Ambassador to Indonesia Sanaullah on Friday said all segments of the Pakistani society stand united in the fight against terrorism despite negative portrayal by the western media.
The ambassador who represented Pakistan at the roundtable discussion with editorial board of Republika, Indonesia’s second largest Bahasa daily in Jakarta said militants were on the run after a successful operation against them. The roundtable focused on Pakistan and Indonesia’s relations, bilateral trade, Pak-US ties, Afghanistan issue and the issue ofterrorism, according to a message received here from Jakarta. Ambassador Sanaullah said the war on terror was a long drawn process and would take time to reach the desirable conclusive end.
To a question about Taliban, the ambassador said they misled the people with their propaganda advocating killing in the name of Islam. He added that majority of Pakistanis had rejected the Taliban philosophy of coercion. The ambassador said Pakistan and Indonesia had gained some milestones on bilateral trade in the recent past.
He mentioned signing of Preferential Trade Agreement which waspart of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s economic agenda that he presented during his visit to Pakistan in 2005. He said bilateral trade between the two countries had registered growth and crossed the $ one billion mark in 2011 and said it was expected to be reached by $ two billion by the year’s end.
The ambassador when asked about specific sectors for trade promotion, named the palm oil, rubber, rubber products, coal and other agro-based products. He asserted that Indonesia needed to ease out its visa regime which was discriminatory to Pakistan.
The embassy team at the discussion was led by Ambassador and comprised Deputy Head of Mission, Syed Sajjad Haider, Defence Attache, Col Umer, First Secretary (Press), Saeed Javed, Head of Chancery, Zafar Iqbal, Third Secretary, Giyan Chand, Business Attache, Tahir Iqbal and Attache (Consul), Inayatullah. Republika was represented by the Chief Editor, Nasihin Masha, Chief News Advisor and President Director of Republika’s newly launched Alif TV, Ikhwanul Kiram, Senior editor, Maman, editor, Front Page, Ms Wulan Palupi, Home News editor, Ms Yeyen Rostiyani, news editor, Ferry Kisihandi, editor, Teguh Firmansyah, editor, Ms Satya Festiani, and Ms Ani Nursalikah, reporters.
No nation can progress sans investment in education: CM
