THE first of its kind Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday launched Kamyab Jawan sports drive at an impressive ceremony at Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad. The aim is to harness the potential of youth in different sports.
The ambience of the stadium once again made it abundantly clear that Imran Khan is still as popular amongst the young lot as ever.
It really showed that the youth have a lot of expectations from the PM and indeed investing in them is the way forward to take the country forward whether it is the field of sports or economy.
There was a time when the country used to reign in different sports be it cricket, hockey, squash, boxing, snooker etc. However, the last two decades have seen a consistent decline and our performances at main events have remained very dismal.
The most recent example is the Tokyo Olympics where we failed to grab anything. Similarly, in the recently-held World Junior Hockey Tournament, our team took the eleventh spot.
In this backdrop, there was a need for an initiative like Kamyab Jawan Sports Drive to hunt the true talent in different sports and then provide them the chance to showcase it at the international level.
The centre of excellence that will be established under this initiative is really a step in the right direction to train and polish the youth as per the international standards.
We are confident that meritocracy will be ensured in the whole process so that the only talented youth could come forward and earn laurels for the country in their respective games.
As the government has also prepared a new sports policy, it is important that Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) should be fully empowered and whilst riding the sports federations of mafias, truly professional and diligent people should be inducted in them.
The government had also allocated one hundred billion rupees under Kamyab Jawan Program to encourage the youth to start their businesses and earn their livelihoods. Since its launch, we understand that a very minuscule amount has been disbursed.
The banks must be taken on board to ensure fast track processing of these loans. The success of this program is equally important to develop the country on the economic front.
