Education, economic prosperity vital to counter violence in society: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Wednesday that the rising trend of violence in the society can only be addressed by focusing on education and economic prosperity.

The prime minister expressed these views in a meeting with a delegation of students from Headstart School during their visit to the PM Office.

The interaction with the students was a part of the initiative to invite young leaders and students from various public and private sector institutes from across the country to the PM Office in order to brief them about the working of the highest office of the government, along with providing them an opportunity to interact with the premier as well.

The prime minister said on the occasion that the government was taking all possible steps, including legislative measures, for the protection of the vulnerable segments of the society.

He said steps were being taken to curb incidents of domestic violence and to protect vulnerable communities like transgenders against marginalisation.

During his interaction with the students, the premier had a candid discussion with the visiting delegation who raised questions on a number of issues, including the political environment of the country, foreign policy matters and economic pursuits of Pakistan.

Responding to a question about China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, PM Abbasi said the project, with its interconnected infrastructure and industrial development, would not only connect the entire region seamlessly, especially from western China to the Central Asian republics but would also generate huge economic and employment opportunities for the people of Pakistan.

On the challenges faced by the country on the international front, Abbasi said that Pakistan was actively engaged with the international community to highlight its point of view on various issues.

Discussing the economic issues being faced by the country, he said that the government was making every effort to strengthen the economy by introducing business-friendly policies in an effort to attract considerable investments in different sectors.

He said that a large market and a growing economy of the country was attracting the international community and investors to undertake profitable business ventures inside Pakistan.

Talking about the overall situation, PM Abbasi noted that a marked improvement could be seen in different sectors of the economy since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government took over power in 2013.

He also said that the achievements and the progress made during the tenure of the incumbent government surpassed all achievements of the past. The PML-N government had delivered and fulfilled its promises made to the people of Pakistan, he added.

The students thanked the prime minister for providing them an opportunity to have a candid discussion with him on important issues.