'Pur Amn Pakistan' conference concludes: youth can help overcome terror challenge: minister

Punjab Minister for Education and Youth Affairs Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan has claimed that only the youth could save Pakistan from terror and that the Punjab government will soon start a programme to sponsor toppers in various grades to get admission in the world's prominent universities.
He stated this while addressing the concluding session of a three-day national "Pur Amn (Peaceful) Pakistan Conference" here on Friday. The Punjab government, Umeed Jawan and Bargad Youth Development organisation jointly organised the conference with an objective to engage the youth in positive activities, to discuss the National Action Plan to counter terror and give a way forward to counter extremism in society through healthy participation of the youth.
Those who also made speeches were Sarwat Jahan of Umeed Jawan, Sadia Atta of the UNFPA, Bahauddin Zikrya University's Vice Chancellor Doctor Khawaja Alqma, Muhammad Waseem of the Interactive Resource Centre, Shahzad Ahmed, Mubashir Akram and Salma Butt. The minister further said, "The Punjab government is ready to cooperate with the youth for every positive activity and it will also form a "peace volunteer network" soon."
Only youth could make country's future bright by making it peaceful and pluralistic, he added. More than 300 students of public and private universities, teachers, academics, peace activists and parliamentarians participated in the conference. Parents and families of many children who died in the Army Public School Peshawar also attended the conference. The conference recommended the federal and provincial governments to take stern action against all types of extremists and terrorist groups without any discrimination and also urged the government to take effective measures to curb hate speech and material in textbooks and also demanded to observe December 16 a national day.