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.

Electrical device helps paralyzed men move legs

LONDON: Three years ago, doctors reported that zapping a paralyzed man's spinal cord with electricity allowed him to stand and move his legs. Now they've done the same with three other patients, suggesting their original success was no fluke.

Experts say it's a promising development but warn that the experimental treatment isn't a cure. When the implanted device is activated, the men can wiggle their toes, lift their legs and stand briefly. But they aren't able to walk and still use wheelchairs to get around.

"There is no miracle cure on the way," said Peter Ellaway, an emeritus professor of physiology at Imperial College London, who had no role in the study. "But this could certainly give paralyzed people more independence and it could still be a life-changer for them."

In a new study published Tuesday in the British journal Brain, researchers gave an update on Rob Summers, of Portland, Oregon, the first to try the treatment, and described successful results for all three of the other men who have tried it. All had been paralyzed from below the neck or chest for at least two years from a spinal cord injury.

The study's lead author, Claudia Angeli of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Research Center at the University of Louisville, said she believes the device's zapping of the spinal cord helps it to receive simple commands from the brain, through circuitry that some doctors had assumed was beyond repair after severe paralysis.

Dustin Shillcox, 29, of Green River, Wyoming, was seriously injured in a car crash in 2010. Last year, he had the electrical device surgically implanted in his lower back in Kentucky. Five days later, he wiggled his toes and moved one of his feet for the first time.

"It was very exciting and emotional," said Shillcox. "It brought me a lot of hope."

Shillcox now practices moving his legs for about an hour a day at home in addition to therapy sessions in the lab, sometimes wearing a Superman T-shirt for inspiration. He said it has given him more confidence and he feels more comfortable going out.

"The future is very exciting for people with spinal cord injuries," he said.

The study's other two participants - Kent Stephenson of Mount Pleasant, Texas and Andrew Meas of Louisville, Kentucky - have had similar results.

"I'm able to (make) these voluntary movements and it really changed my life," Stephenson said. He said the electrical device lets him ride on an off-road utility vehicle all day with his friends and get out of the wheelchair.

"I've seen some benefits of (the device) training even when it's turned off," he added. "There have been huge improvements in bowel, bladder and sexual function."

The new study was paid for by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and others.

Experts said refining the use of electrical stimulators for people with paralysis might eventually prove more effective than standard approaches, including medicines and physical therapy.

"In the next five to 10 years, we may have one of the first therapies that can improve the quality of life for people with a spinal cord injury," said Gregoire Courtine, a paralysis expert at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, who was not part of the study.

Ellaway said it was unrealistic to think that paralyzed people would be able to walk after such treatment but it was feasible they might eventually be able to stand unaided or take a few steps.

"The next step will be to see how long this improvement persists or if they will need this implant for the rest of their lives," he said.

The National Institutes of Health is investing in more advanced stimulators that would better target the spinal cord as well as devices that might work on people who are paralyzed in their upper limbs.