Don't be afraid of tough time, good time in the offing: PM

• Imran Khan says first 12 months of government are very tough as they were given a bankrupt country.
• The prime minister says progress of a society is not possible without merit.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday said the first 12 months of the PTI government were very tough as they were given a bankrupt country and weak institutions but assured the people that a good time was in the offing.

“One should not be afraid of tough time as it comes for your improvement and we must learn from it, adding he has no doubt that Pakistan will emerge as a great nation but for it we will have to change and bring truthfulness in ourselves,” he said while speaking to the jubilant youth at launch of Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan National Youth Development Programme at the jam packed Jinnah Convention Centre.

The prime minister said progress of a society was not possible without merit, adding those nations in the world move forward that follow the rule of merit.

He said unfortunately today the country was confronted with a number of problems as no efforts were made in the past to promote merit and discourage corruption.

The prime minister reiterated his government’s resolve to promote merit and prevent corruption.

He said the youth were the future of Pakistan and the country’s destiny depended on them.

He urged the youth to keep their thoughts high as a great man always emerged from his high thoughts.

The prime minister urged the youth to read about the life of Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) as he was a role model for the entire world.

He said as a result of establishment of the state of Madinah by Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the Muslims ruled the world for over a thousand years.

He said meritocracy and uprightness were hallmarks of the state of Madinah which helped it succeed.

The prime minister said the main reason for demise of the Muslims in the world was the adoption of monarchy and not giving democratic rights to their society.

He said the Mughal Empire went to decline as they did not follow the rule of merit.

“The time has come to change our mentality to become a self-reliant and self-esteemed nation and for this we will need to develop a culture of paying taxes to make the economy working,” he said.

He said under the PTI’s flagship Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan National Youth Development Programme, Rs100 billion loans would be given to the youth for setting up businesses, adding that out of this amount Rs 25 billion had been allocated for the women.

He said interest free loans up to Rs100,000 would be given to weak segments of the society purely on merit while loans from Rs100,000 to Rs 500,000 would be given on concession rates for new startups.

In the third category, he said, subsidized lending from Rs500,000 to Rs5 million would be given for startups and existing Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs).

The prime minister said target of the government under this scheme was to give loans to one million youth. The worker of JUI(F) Fazal ur Rehman will also be given loans under the scheme, the prime minister said in a lighter mode.

He said youth was force of a country and the present government had allocated Rs 10 billion for their skills development, adding that 100 small technical laboratories would be established where 100,000 youth would be imparted technical training.

He said 25,000 youth would be associated with industries while 500 skills laboratories would also be set up inside Madrassahs.

He said the PTI was the first government which wanted to impart technical and science education to the students of religious seminaries and bring them into the mainstream.

The prime minister said efforts were being made to bring a uniform education system in the country to streamline the society.

He said 200 teachers would be sent abroad for training so that they could impart better skills to the youth.

He said the government would set up National Youth Skills Development Foundation so that youth of the entire country could interact with each others, adding he would personally monitor the programme to check its progress.

He congratulated all stakeholders for launching the first phase of the programme for youth of the country. He said minorities, being equal citizens of Pakistan, would also benefit from the programme alike.

The prime minister said the next programmes to be launched for youth were Green Youth Movement, StartUp Pakistan and National Internship Programme.

Earlier, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar while speaking said the programme would take the youth to prosperity.

He said Kamyab Jawan programme was the first step on the promise made by Prime Minister Imran Khan to make the youth employed. He said 68 percent of Pakistan's population consists of youth.

Usman Dar regretted that previous governments failed to devise policies for the development of youth.

He said the government had prepared the country's first Youth Development Framework, under which work was being carried out in six areas.

Earlier, the prime minister pushed button to formally launch Kamyab Jawan programme for National Youth Development.