Govt to take giant steps towards a welfare state in 2020: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said giant steps would be taken in the year 2020 to put Pakistan on the path leading to realisation of being a welfare state based upon the principles of rule of law, meritocracy and social equality.

Addressing the ground-breaking ceremony of the Air University South Campus, the prime minister said the people were blessed to achieve their concepts, visions and dreams irrespective of all hurdles. “The great people and institutions, who nurtured wider visions, always progressed,” he added.

The prime minister said his own vision to transform Pakistan on the pattern of State of Madinah, which was ‘a tried and tested model’ in the human history based on the creation of a humanitarian system leading to the rise of a great nation. The welfare State of Madina, he said, had three basic principles of social security, rule of law where no one was above the law, and the emphasis upon seeking of knowledge.

PM Imran Khan said during the 1960s, degrees awarded by the Pakistani educational institutes were recognised internationally and students from abroad used to study here. However, he regretted that no focus was made on maintaining standard of higher education and research.

The prime minister stressed on learning from the life of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), who had laid emphasis that seeking of knowledge was a sacred duty.

He said the world today was moving at a fast pace in terms of achievements in the fields of science and technology, which were making progress by leaps and bounds. He referred to artificial intelligence (AI), which was bringing about a revolution and stressed that the country’s institutions should take benefit from the ‘watershed moment’.

PM Imran Khan observed that there should be some out of the box strategy according high priority to the education sector as the nation had capabilities to excel despite limited financial resources.

Expressing his optimism, he said soon the difficult times would be over as nations who underwent trials always emerged successfully. The county was facing economic constraints but it had huge human resource potential like the overseas Pakistanis, he added.

Imran Khan said his government’s basic target was to introduce a system of meritocracy in all spheres of life. He said in the year 2019, the government succeeded in bringing about an economic turnaround and stability despite facing hard times in the middle of last year when the country’s foreign reserves had shrunk, with the rupee sliding down.

He expressed his optimism, “InshaAllah, 2020 will be the year in which the country will witness progress and prosperity”. He said the country had huge potential in every sector.

PM Imran Khan also lauded the establishment of university campus by the Pakistan Air Force authorities and credited them for maintaining standards. He stressed, that focus should be given on job-oriented education system. He appreciated the space-like model of the Air University South Campus which reflecting the vision for future requirements.

Earlier, Air University Vice Chancellor Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Faaiz Amir, in his welcome address, said the university was determined to fulfill its commitment to the society by providing world class education to its students.

The new campus being built at a cost of Rs 1.575 billion would offer quality education to the students, he added. The vice chancellor said today was the era of advancement in technology and the nations, who import technology, could not compete with those who had technologies.

Earlier, the prime minister performed the ground breaking of the Air University South Campus by unveiling the plaque. Senator Faisal Javed, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Taiq Banori, and the university academicians and staff attended the ceremony.