Saturday, 21 June 2014

Let’s work for five years, don’t pull our legs: PM



 












ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has told the agitating elements “don’t pull our legs and of the country. Let us work for the future of it and serve its youth for five years together dedicatedly.”
Addressing the launch ceremony of Prime Minister’s Youth Proramme (PMYP) scheme for distribution of laptops on Friday at the Jinnah Convention Centre, he said, “I have a clear picture of the world but some TV channels are presenting some other world.”

He said his government would change the fate of the nation within the mandated period as loadshedding, lawlessness and other ills in the society would be eliminated. Nawaz said the politics of strikes and sit-ins was against the progress of the country and asked the political groups to let the PML-N government act upon its agenda of the country’s development.

He said some elements who wanted to take to the streets in the name of revolution, were working on the agenda to push the country back to the era of darkness and misery. On the contrary, the prime minister said, the PML-N government was working on a “real revolution” by making the youth a part of the country’s development.

He said “We are working with commitment and zeal for the development of the country. There is no justification for creating hurdles on our journey of national development. I dream of a bright future for the youth while on the roads some sections of people are bent upon pushing the country back into the dark ages, he said.”

“I am unable to understand the agenda of the people who are agitating. Are they agitating against our development agenda?” The prime minster asked the youth to stand with those who want to take the country forward on the path of peace and prosperity, and not with those who want the nation to plunge into darkness. The people of Pakistan had voted PML-N into power as they believed that this party had the capability to deliver. He said the PML-N is working with determination to eliminate power loadshedding since work has been initiated on mega development projects like Lahore-Karachi motorway and Pakistan-China trade corridor.

He said the government has launched the operation to eliminate terrorism and he is working on a plan to bring legislation on banning illegal weapons across the country. He said his party lacked majority in the Senate and faced difficulties in passage of this new legislation for elimination of illegal weapons. He expressed hope that the opposition parties will realise the importance of such measures to overcome incidents of robbery, extortion and kidnapping for ransom.

He said a feel-good factor has increased the stock index, while new employment opportunities are being generated and all sectors are witnessing positive change. A smart contingent of Punjab Police presented guard of honour to the talented students. The prime minister pointed out that the contingent is especially here to present salute to the “real VVIPs” who are in fact the students of the country.

He informed the audience that under the Rs4 billion scheme, about 100,000 students across the country would be getting quality laptops per year for a period of five years. The scheme is aimed at boosting the scope of research, quality education and improved access to information and communication technology among the graduate and post-graduate level students in the country. The prime minister said that he personally approved the design of the laptop that was prepared by Maryam Nawaz Sharif. He expressed hope that the students will utilise it prudently in the advancement of their studies.

Among other projects for youth, he said Rs1.2 billion had been allocated for the Fee Re-imbursement Scheme (FRS) under which 40,000 students will be getting a refund of up to Rs100,000 every year. “I wish to extend this facility to all the students of Pakistan. No student should remain uneducated due to resource constraints,” he added.

The prime minister referred to his promises made during his election campaign and said he remained committed to take the country forward. The government would facilitate those who had education and skill by providing them enough resources to move forward in their lives and help their families by earning respectably.

He recalled the criticism against the loan scheme for the youth by various quarters, and said that time has proved success of the scheme. Nawaz said that currently only 12,000 applicants had got the loans, while more funds are available for more loan seekers. “I am happy to tell you that the successful candidates have started their businesses and have even started paying back the loan. The loan scheme is a trust we have posed in our youth and they have proved themselves trustworthy. There is a special quota for special persons and students and it is being observed in all the schemes,” he added.

He said that no government in the past had the courage to provide loans of up to Rs2 million to needy youth. No questions were asked to the students to which party they support before providing the laptops, he said. “It does not matter if you have voted for me or not, I am still your prime minister and responsible to provide you all facilities,” he said. In all 1,740 students were present at the Convention Centre to receive their laptops on the launching day. The prime minister also distributed the laptops among the students hailing from all the provinces and Fata, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Nawaz stressed that merit is the only qualification needed to qualify for our schemes.

PMYP Chairperson Maryam Nawaz Sharif said the present democratic government has been effectively fulfilling the promises it made with the people. The launch of the laptop scheme is part of these promises. She said those students who come on merit will be eligible to get a laptop and there would be no discrimination at all. She said all good students will now be able to get all the required help in education and will not lag behind due to lack of resources. She said that similarly the FRS is also getting a very positive response.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif soon after taking oath announced six schemes, of which five were for youth. The FRS, PM Youth Loan, while Micro Finance for the youth will be launched in a few days. He said the Ministry of Finance had already released the full amount of Rs4 billion for the scheme. Local manufacturing of the laptops will create new employment and bring technical expertise to the country, he said. He said with the launch of the 3G technology, the students will experience faster internet speed and mentioned that the students would also get free EVO 3G dongles with their laptops. He said purely merit and transparency are being ensured in the schemes and no political interference at work in it. He said that all youth schemes are to continue for five years.

Higher Educational Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said for the first time, the HEC had received its full budget and got Rs63 billion for various projects. He said an inbuilt application in laptops would provide various academic productivity tools to the students including a Digital Library to access more than 6,000 research journals offered under National Digital Library Programme besides a lot of other online facilities to the students.

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