ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday launched the country’s largest sports initiative, Kamyab Jawan Sports Drive, after lighting a torch at an impressive ceremony at Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad.
According to APP, Sports Drive was part of the new four projects worth Rs 4 billion initiated by the present government in coordination with Kamayab Jawan Programme and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to keep the country’s youth engaged in sports and extracurricular activities.
Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister pointed out that the talent hunt programme was aimed at preparing the youth for international-level competitions. “Centers of excellence will be established to polish the immense talent of Pakistani youth in different fields,” he added.
“When you learn to compete in ground, you also learn to win and also learn to face defeat…When there comes a difficult time in the life of a person, he or she faces that challenge with courage,” the premier said, adding that a new sports policy has also been formulated to rid the old system of mafias.
The Prime Minister further said that since the country’s 70% of population was under the age of 30 years, the present government has so far developed 300 and 260 sports grounds in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, respectively.
He said that with New Zealand, a country of just 5 million population, had more sports grounds than Pakistan – a country of 220 million people, the present government was striving to develop sports grounds in every village, town, Tehsil and Districts across the country.
PM Imran also said as a new sports policy has also been announced, the government was taking all reforms measures to strengthen the sports bodies and organizations and eliminate mafias from sports.
Besides the promotion of sports activities, the premier said that the government was also focusing on education and had disbursed Rs 47 billion in scholarships to 6.3 million youth, the highest number of scholarships in country’s history.
The Prime Minister mentioned his 21 years of experience in sports and said his message for the youth was that they should never feel discouraged after defeat in a game, as it provided them an opportunity to review their shortcomings and prepare themselves for the next competition with a renewed vigor and spirit.
He also congratulated his Special Assistant on Youth Affairs Usman Dar for organizing such a big event of Kamyab Jawan Sports Drive and hoped that such talent-hunt drives will help further promote sports culture in the country and among youth.
