Pakistan shares strong friendly relations with European Union (EU) countries and highly values the cooperation of EU for the development of education, health, infrastructure and other social sectors, said Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday in meeting with a representative delegation of European parliament. Matters of mutual interest, strengthening of economic and trade relations and promotion of cooperation in education, health, skill development and other sectors were discussed in the meeting.
Talking to the delegation, the chief minister said that the Punjab government is implementing various programmes with the cooperation of Britain in education, health and skill development sectors. He said that thousands of youth have been imparted various skills with the collaboration of the British Department for International Development (DFID) under the Skill Development Programme.
He said that Pakistan’s textile exports have increased by one billion dollars after the granting of the GSP-Plus status which had left a positive impact on the economy. He said that a prominent international company of Denmark had identified four locations in the province for generation of energy from wind power. He said that according to the Danish company, there is a potential of generation of 1,000 megawatts electricity through wind power. He said that Pakistan will fully benefit from the experience of the friendly countries in this regard. He said that besides challenges of terrorism and extremism, Pakistan is also facing the menace of load shedding, however, the government is making serious efforts for elimination of terrorism as well as finding solution of energy problem.
The chief minister further said that on December 16, 2014, innocent children and teachers were brutally martyred in a school of Peshawar and such an incident of barbarity is unprecedented in history. However, he said, this tragedy has united the entire nation against terrorism. He said that political, military and religious leadership is on one page in the war against terrorism and victory is the only option in this war. He said that a fully trained Counter Terrorism Force (CTF) had been established in the province and necessary amendments have made in the laws for making sentences more stringent so as to cope with the problem of extremism and sectarianism.
He said that 180 million people of Pakistan are determined to defeat the enemies of peace. He said that the goal of national progress and prosperity cannot be achieved without elimination of the menace of terrorism. He said that there is no discrimination of good or bad terrorists.
He further said that besides use of force, education and health facilities, social equality and justice are also required for rooting out the scourge of terrorism and extremism. He said that elimination of poverty and unemployment can also help control extremist trends. He said that for the purpose of checking extremism, topics like tolerance, peace and brotherhood are also being included in educational syllabus. He further said that in addition to traditional methods, the government is also striving for generation of energy from renewable sources. He said that after discovery and certification of precious mineral reserves in Chiniot-Rajwa, the identification of wind corridors in Punjab is another big success.
He further said that every step of the government is aimed at making Pakistan a developed, peaceful and prosperous country. He said that the glorious measures taken by the government for the welfare and empowerment of youth are leaving a far-reaching impact on the society. Referring to the steps taken for the promotion of education, the chief minister said that the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund had been set up in the province through which educational scholarships are being given to poor but talented students for pursuing their studies. He said that the volume of educational fund has reached 12 billion rupees and more than 60,000 students are benefitting from this fund.
Similarly, he said, 140,000 boys and girls are studying in schools with the help of voucher scheme of the Punjab Education Foundation. He said that state-of-the-art Daanish schools have been established in far-flung areas of Punjab where even better educational facilities than Aitchison College are being provided to the children of the poorest of the poor segment of the society. He said that revolutionary measures have also been taken for the empowerment of youth.
He further said that the Punjab Schools Reforms Roadmap had been successfully implemented while health sector reforms programme had also been started on the same pattern.
