ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Friday pledged to provide all facilities and support to women in getting quality education and ensure their effective role in the national development.
"This is the commitment of our government to the female youth of this nation and we will go the extra mile for a brighter future of our daughters," the Prime Minister said in his address at the convocation of the Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) here at the Convention Centre.
Addressing a large gathering of students, parents and the faculty members of FJWU, the Prime Minister said that the youth, particularly the young women, had an important role to play in the development of the country.
Despite the financial constraints, the government is committed to provide them quality education, he added.
Stressing importance of education, the Prime Minister said that it was not only a religious obligation, but also vital for the growth and development of society and to enable the citizens become useful members.
The Prime Minister said that the world today had shrunk due to the rapid advancements made in the information technology. He said with a click of the computer's button, one could access any part of the world through such digital means.
He said that it was time for the Pakistani students to avail this opportunity and use the available information for their learning and education.
Raja Ashraf said that the nation was proud of Malala Yousafzai, who had served as a beacon for others, to spread knowledge and education.
He appreciated the availability and use of Information Technology by the Fatima Jinnah Women University and hoped that it would help the students and the faculty reach out to the outer world.
He appreciated the research papers by the students that had earned the FJWU a good name in the global academic community. He termed research vital for the students for achieving competitive edge.
The Prime Minister said that the focus should be on agriculture, science and technology, engineering, medicine and other areas so that progress and development could be achieved in these vital fields.
He was also appreciative that the construction of the second campus of FJWU had begun and assured his government's full support in this regard.
He said that the women constituted half of the country's population and quoted Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who had said that a nation cannot progress unless its women are educated and work side by side the men.
He mentioned Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Bhutto, who worked selflessly for the rights of the women and did all to help them attain their true status in the society.
He said that the Parliament in line with the vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had passed 24 items of legislation on the women emancipation.
He mentioned the Benazir Income Support Programme as an endeavour of the democratic government to financially empower the women and said that it was helping them achieve success in their daily lives.
Prime Minister Ashraf congratulated the young students, their teachers and parents on their academic success and urged them to continue working selflessly for the country.
Punjab Governor Latif Khosa, who is also the FJWU Chancellor, lauded the young students for their hardwork and urged them to continue focussing on the important task of working selflessly for the progress and prosperity of the country.
He was also appreciative of the teachers and parents and assured that the Punjab Government would help the Higher Education Commission for further growth of universities and help them meet their needs.
FJWU Vice Chancellor Dr Samina Amin Qadir said that the number of degrees awarded to the students in this ceremony included one Ph.D, nine M.Phil, 639 master and 392 bachelor degrees.
She mentioned that the university's faculty members had published 69 papers in international and national journals while currently eight research projects were in progress.
Prime Minister Ashraf also awarded degrees and gold medals to the outstanding students.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira and Chairperson of the Higher Education Commission Dr Javaid Leghari were also present.
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