ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday launched the country’s first National Youth Employment Policy, a programme to provide young people with new opportunities to acquire skills and prepare them for the future job market and the National Power Sector Innovation Programme.
The event was held to mark the World Youth Day. Federal ministers, parliamentarians, students and others attended the ceremony.
The PM formally announced the country’s first National Youth Employment Policy, under which a mandatory 35 per cent quota will be allocated to women across the labour force. A decision has also been taken to facilitate young people in starting their own businesses rather than focusing solely on conventional employment.
According to the policy, 10pc of the annual quota will be allocated for startups.
The PM said that every possible resource would be provided to young people for education and development and urged provincial governments to establish high-quality educational institutions on the model of Daanish Schools.
The prime minister said they had gathered to observe the World Youth Day and that he had made every effort to ensure that Pakistan did not lag behind other countries in the field of education. He said that as the ‘Khadem-e-Punjab’, he had taken various measures to promote education.
He noted that it was a matter of great irony that children from affluent families not only had access to the best educational institutions in Pakistan but could also afford to study at the world’s leading universities, as their families had the necessary financial resources. In contrast, millions of parents in the country could not even provide their children with ordinary educational opportunities. He said children from elite families studied at Aitchison College, while poor parents could not even dream of sending their children there. “This is the contradiction that has caused Pakistan to fall far behind in the field of education. However, thankfully, in recent years, Daanish Schools have been established, enabling children from poor families to receive quality education.”
He said the fundamental objective of Pakistan’s creation was to establish a welfare state where everyone would enjoy equal rights and opportunities for development. However, he added, “I believe this destination is still far away.”
The PM said that Daanish Schools were initially established in Punjab and as ‘Khadem-e-Pakistan’, he had ordered for establishing them in Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and the mountainous areas of Balochistan.
The PM said equal educational opportunities must be provided to every boy and girl from Karachi to Peshawar. He said young people had to advance significantly in the field of education and that the present era was one of technical education, IT and Artificial Intelligence. “If we do not incorporate these modern fields of knowledge into our journey, we will fall far behind in the race for development.”
He said thousands of boys and girls who had graduated from Daanish Schools were now doctors, engineers and teachers and were also participating in international debates abroad. The PM said the nation had great hopes of its younger generation, which constitutes the majority of the country’s population. He stressed the need to provide them with diverse opportunities to acquire skills.
“We have allocated substantial funds in this year’s budget for development and prosperity of young people,” he said. Last year, 1,000 agricultural graduates from all the four provinces were sent to China for training at government expense on merit. Another 1,000 young men and women would be sent this year. Students who achieved outstanding results in their matriculation and FA/FSc examinations would also be sent to China this year to study IT and AI.
He stated that selection would be strictly merit-based and that all expenses would be borne by the government so that the students could become a valuable asset to the nation.
The prime minister said that Pakistan’s best Daanish University was being established in Islamabad and that classes would commence next year. It would be a fully technology-focused university providing technical and vocational education.
He said that more than 700,000 laptops had already been distributed among hardworking, talented and deserving students. This year, another 250,000 Chromebooks would be provided to talented students across the country.
The PM presented certificates to members of the Core Task Force of the National Employment Policy, as well as awards to position holders of Daanish Schools and young people who had rendered outstanding services in various fields.
The PM also encouraged and congratulated Muhammad Qasim, a talented student of Daanish School Fazilpur, who secured first position in the Science Group and second position overall in the SSC Part-II examinations conducted by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Lahore.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has conferred a prestigious special award on Shaheryar Memon, Focal Person for Overseas Affairs, Business and Trade Linkages for the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, in recognition of his services towards empowering Pakistan’s youth and promoting entrepreneurship.
The award represents an acknowledgment of Memon’s sustained efforts to encourage young Pakistanis to embrace entrepreneurship, develop business skills and explore opportunities in investment and enterprise. Chairman Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan was also present at the award ceremony.
Memon has the distinction of being recognised as the only entrepreneur from across Pakistan to receive this honour for his contribution to youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, business promotion and investment facilitation. The recognition also highlights the growing importance attached to entrepreneurship as a pathway for creating employment, strengthening the private sector and broadening economic opportunities for the country’s young population.
Speaking after receiving the award, Memon described the recognition by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif as a matter of immense honour and privilege. He said the award was particularly meaningful as it recognised his role in supporting the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme and reflected appreciation for his commitment, hard work and vision for the economic empowerment of young Pakistanis. “Being recognised by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif as a self-made entrepreneur is a great honour for me,” Memon said.
He said the focus should increasingly be on developing job creators rather than job seekers, enabling young people to establish enterprises, generate employment and contribute to sustainable economic growth. Memon maintained that a confident and entrepreneurial generation of young Pakistanis could become a powerful force for economic transformation, innovation and national development.
Meanwhile, Dzenis Maroz, Minister for Energy of the Republic of Belarus, who is currently on an official visit to Pakistan, called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House Wednesday afternoon.
The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the productive deliberations held during the 9th Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) held in Islamabad, wherein the two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation, including in trade, industry, agriculture, banking, labour, transport and energy sectors. Both sides expressed confidence that the outcomes of the JMC would translate into tangible benefits for both countries and further consolidate the growing partnership between Pakistan and Belarus.
