“Everyone in the country is allowed to exercise the fundamental right to freedom of speech in Pakistan, but it’s only possible through education,” the prime minister said, while addressing the Air University convocation in Islamabad.
“Education is key to social development and vital for democracy… We want to strengthen the democratic norms in the country,” he said, urging the students to sincerely play their role for Pakistan’s development.
The prime minister termed education as the best investment for the future, saying that the government aims at developing an educational system that is compatible with the requirements of a knowledge-based economy.
“Knowledge is the basic currency of the economy we are living in today and has supplanted land, labour and capital as the wealth of a nation,” he said. The prime minister said he was a firm believer in thestrengthening of the country’s educational institutions to facilitate their role and more importantly as gateways of knowledge for the benefit of society at large.
He termed education a pre-requisite for democracy. “We want to strengthen democratic norms, to be able to tolerate different opinions and to understand that everyone has the right to express. And it would only be possible through education,” he said.
He said that youth can play an effective role in the development of the country only by getting modern education. He said that the Constitution is based on Islamic principles and Islam stresses the need for education.
He said that reforms will be introduced in the education system to bring it in conformity with the needs of modern times. “We want to promote tolerance in society through the promotion of education.”
He said that special attention will be paid to female education in the new education policy. He said that more than half of the population comprises women and they will be provided better opportunities to play their due role in nation building. He assured that land will be arranged for the construction of the new campus of Air University.
Separately, speaking to the media in Gwadar, the prime minister said the government plans to develop Gwadar as a “Free Port” on the lines of Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong ports.The Planning Commission has been tasked with the exercise to hire international consultants for this purpose, he said while talking to media persons here after attending a briefing on the pace of ongoing development projects in Balochistan.
Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Raheel Sharif were also present on the occasion.
The prime minister said the government had a broad-based plan for the development of Gwadar under which the port city would have a state-of-the-art airport and a developed seaport.
He said a new security force would also be raised for the security and protection of foreign nationals, particularly the Chinese citizens working on various projects in the area.The prime minister said the civil and military leadership was on the same page and committed to working together for making Pakistan a developed, peaceful and secure country and retrieve it from the challenges it was facing.
“We are together and want to retrieve the country from various challenges. We are committed and we will do it,” he added.The prime minister said during today’s meeting, matters relating to the development of Balochistan, peace and security and the Pak-China Economic Corridor were discussed.
The ways and means to connect Kashgar (China) and Gwadar through road and rail links were deliberated in detail, he added. He said director general (DG) of the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) briefed the meeting about the pace of work on various road projects underway in the province.
Nawaz expressed his government’s resolve to lay a network of roads in Balochistan during his current tenure.The prime minister appreciated DG FWO Maj Gen Muhammad Afzal for his dedication in the development and construction work in Balochistan with the support of the army.
He said the development work in Balochistan by FWO was not aimed at making profit as profit does not matter when it comes to achieve the goal of peace and progress in the province.He said he would also convene a cabinet meeting in Balochistan. Nawaz was highly appreciative of the policies of reforms, good governance and merit, initiated by Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik. “He (Malik) is doing a good job,” he remarked.
Earlier, during the briefing, the prime minister was apprised that in the Pak-China Economic Corridor, Rs162 billion had been allocated for Balochistan only.He was informed that the provision of clean drinking water, 300-bed hospital, technical training centre, 19-km expressway and expansion of airport and port had also been planned for Gwadar.
The prime minister appreciated the role of federal agencies, the army, FC and police for improving the law and order situation in Balochistan during the last 10 months.He directed the finance minister to release Rs1.6 billion for port dredging. He said interests of the local people should be protected while developing Gwadar.
The prime minister said the development of Gwadar would prove a game changer, not only for Balochistan but also for the region.The chief minister, thanking the prime minister, said for the first time in the history, 78% development budget had been released till now and Rs110 billion had been received under the NFC Award for Balochistan, which is unprecedented.
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