Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal has said that the effective participation of young people is indispensable to planning Pakistan’s future, as the real benefits of development decisions taken today will be reaped by future generations.
The Bano Shaheen Programme will enable young people to go beyond merely identifying problems, develop practical solutions and play an effective role in national development.
Addressing a Bano Shaheen ceremony held at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, to mark the completion of 1,700 teams under the Bano Shaheen Programme, the Federal Minister said that the establishment of 50 Bano Shaheen chapters at Quaid e Azam university represented an important milestone in the expansion of this national initiative.
The Ministry of Planning has established Bano Shaheen chapters in more than 165 universities across the country to connect young people with development planning and incorporate their ideas and priorities into national policymaking.
Ahsan Iqbal said the objective of Bano Shaheen was to develop young people into confident, capable and action-oriented individuals, inspired by Allama Iqbal’s Shaheen, who would move forward to solve Pakistan’s problems instead of expressing despair over them. Successful nations identify opportunities alongside challenges and use their capabilities to transform difficulties into avenues for development.
Referring to the selfless struggle of the workers of the Pakistan Movement, he said the generation of 1947 had transformed the seemingly impossible dream of achieving an independent state into reality despite limited resources.
That generation had struggled for a greater national purpose rather than personal interests and privileges. Today’s youth have an independent, sovereign and nuclear-armed country, educational institutions, resources and opportunities; therefore, it is their responsibility to carry this legacy forward.
The Federal Minister said Pakistan should reach a new milestone in 2047, when the country completes 100 years of independence. Transforming Pakistan into a $3 trillion economy is an important national objective, and achieving this goal will require the younger generation to play a central role in the development process.
He said Pakistan had achieved significant successes throughout its history; however, an honest assessment of the factors behind its inability to sustain the pace of national development was also essential. Citing the extraordinary growth in Vietnam’s exports, he said Pakistan needed to understand how certain countries had overtaken it in the race for development. Talent and resources alone were not sufficient; their full potential could only be realized through a conducive environment, sound policies, continuity and effective implementation.
Ahsan Iqbal said that under the Bano Shaheen Programme, young people would assess the socioeconomic development indicators of their respective areas, identify key challenges and propose practical solutions. The programme would provide them with an opportunity to move beyond problem analysis, adopt a solution-oriented approach and demonstrate their capabilities through practical action.
Declaring education and human development national priorities, he said Pakistan would have to take accelerated measures to bring 25 million out-of-school children into the education system. Addressing malnutrition among children should also be treated as a national emergency so that every child could have the opportunity to realize their potential.
The Federal Minister said a programme offering 5,000 scholarships had been launched for young people from poorest districts areas, including Balochistan and the former FATA, to provide them with access to quality education. Similarly, laptops had been distributed to millions of young people so they could benefit from modern education and technology. He said these initiatives were aimed at empowering youth and bringing marginalized regions into the mainstream of national development.
Ahsan Iqbal also highlighted the risks posed by fake news and misleading narratives in the age of advanced technology, artificial intelligence, big data and social media. He said young people would have to promote information verification, responsible communication and critical thinking to protect society from the effects of polarization and misinformation.
The Federal Minister urged young people to make hope their guiding principle instead of despair, solutions instead of complaints, and national service instead of personal interest. He said that, with the same spirit of commitment and collective struggle through which Pakistan had been achieved, the youth should play their role in taking the country towards new horizons of development, prosperity and economic stability.
