Youth biggest resource of Pakistan: PM Imran Khan

• "The more we invest in our youth, the better it will be for the country," PM Imran Khan says.
• The premier says projects like the STZs will open up new avenues for employment.
• Imran Khan says promotion of technology was never a priority of the previous govts.

HARIPUR: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that since Pakistan is one of the only two countries in the world with the majority of its population under the age of 25, the country's youth is its biggest resource.

The premier was speaking during the inauguration ceremony of the Pakistan Digital City Special Technology Zone in Haripur.

"I have full faith that countries develop because of educational institutions," the premier said.

"The more we invest in technology the more this will benefit Pakistan," he said, adding that the reason Pakistan lags behind other developing countries is that it did not focus on education.

The premier said that investment in the technology sector was vital to creating employment for the youth as well as improving the national economy.

“The future is technology. The special technology zone is a complete ecosystem. The provincial government-generated resources for the project will have a positive impact on next generations,” the prime minister said, adding that the previous governments never focused on the education sector and instead brought about a three-tier education system — Urdu medium, English medium, and the madrassah system — that promoted three cultures and left a negative impact on the society.

He said for the first time, the PTI-led government introduced a core curriculum for up to class five which would be expanded to the upper level to turn the country into a nation.

Calling for exploitation of the potential of the young population, the prime minister reiterated that investment in the technology sector would benefit the country.

He said in the past, the highly educated youths remained unemployed as institutions had no connection with the market; however, projects like the STZs would open up new avenues for employment.

He apprised people present during the ceremony that the government removed impediments in the technology sector which took the growth to 45% and was expected to touch the 75% mark this year.

The premier underlined that the promotion of technology was never a priority of the previous governments.

The prime minister, who earlier distributed licenses among the representatives of the companies aspiring to do business at the STZ, said as the government was making record revenue collection, it would accordingly enhance its investment in the education and health sectors.

It is pertinent to mention here that the project would serve as the hub of high technologies including IT and allied services by providing state-of-the-art facilities to people, experts and investors under one roof and enable collaborations and innovation among academia, research, industry and planners from within the country and abroad.

The digital city is expected to help ensure speedy economic growth, promote IT and allied technologies, enhance the skills of youth and generate hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities for the people.

The flagship project of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would be established on 86 kanals of land and would cost Rs1.31 billion.

— With additional input from APP