Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Thurs-day said that Pakistan’s development agenda could not be completed without placing its young population at the center of national policy-making as the decisions taken today would shape the lives
of generations to come. Addressing a ceremony at Government College Women University Faisalabad (GCWUF), he stressed the need to build a healthy, educated, skilled and socially conscious youth capable of lead-ing the country in the future.
He said that around two-thirds of Pakistan’s popula-tion comprised young people, making investment in education, health, human development and leader-ship development essential for the country’s long-term progress. He said that Pakistan needed a young generation equipped not only with academic qualifications but also with awareness, confidence, positive thinking and a strong sense of responsibility so that it could effectively assume leadership roles in the future.
He said that it was an honor for him to inaugurate two projects at GCWUF and expressed pleasure at visiting an institution where around 11,000 female students were pursuing higher education. He said that the growing number of women pursuing higher education reflected the expanding opportunities available to Pakistani women to contribute to national development.
Referring to his home district Narowal, Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that there had been a time when the area had no higher educational institution. Talented boys and girls who secured good marks and academic positions were often unable to travel to other cities for higher education, he added. He said that the University of Narowal was established to address this need and now it had around 8,000 students enrolled, providing local youth with greater access to higher education.
The federal minister said that the Ministry of Plan-ning and Development had launched the Young Development Fellows (YDF) Program to provide young people with opportunities to participate in development-related activities.
