IUB convocation: Youth can transform Pakistan, says President

Governor praises university for striving to protect Islamic heritage


Our Correspondent October 25, 2014

BAHAWALPUR:


President Mamnoon Hussain said on Friday that Pakistan had been blessed with a plenty of natural resources.


He was speaking at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur’s 2014 convocation. Hussain said educated youth had the potential to transform Pakistan. He said the people had pinned their hopes on them. Hussain said he was delighted to visit Bahawalpur as Khwaja Ghulam Farid, the sufi poet, had hailed from the area. He praised the former princely state for the services it had rendered to help the then fledgling state of Pakistan.

The president felicitated the chancellor, the students and the faculty on the occasion.  He praised the university’s contribution to scientific research and said its history was dynamic.  Hussain also praised the IUB for producing two cotton varieties.



Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar praised the university for organising the convocation in a befitting manner.

He also praised the IUB for always striving to protect its Islamic heritage. Sarwar said it was a matter of pride for him to be the varsity’s chancellor as it gave him the opportunity to oversee an institution that was committed to social development and pioneering research. He praised the university for promoting knowledge and economic stability in the area.

The governor said the IUB had several international and national achievements to its credit. He said this had been made possible by collaborating with several social, cultural and financial institutions. Sarwar said the event had been organised in honour of the graduating students. He praised their commitment and perseverance.

Sarwar urged the students to adopt Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel laureate and Arfa Karim, the late child prodigy, as their role models. Sarwar said he was certain that IUB would continue to excel academically under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor (VC) Rao Muhammad Afzal Khan.

Minister of State Baleeghur Rehman said the government had prioritised the provision of quality education. He said it had given Bahawalpur University a Rs860 million for its development needs.

VC Khan earlier gave the welcome address. He said those present would always remember this convocation due to the presence of President Hussain and Governor Sarwar.

He welcomed them to Bahawalpur. Khan said the city had been a centre of learning since time immemorial. He said the first Islamic university in the history of mankind had been established at Uch Sharif.  Khan said the progressive Nawabs of Bahawalpur had nurtured this tradition.

He said General Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan V had laid the foundation stone of Jamia Abbasi in 1925 that had later become the IUB. He said the varsity had been accorded the status of a public university in 1975.

President Hussain later inaugurated the IUB’s sports complex that was completed at a cost of Rs78 million. He also laid the foundation stone for a building for the Faculty of Education Training that is being funded by a Rs270 million grant from the USAID.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2014.

COMMENTS (1)

zaman | 9 years ago | Reply

The Governor of Punjab is certainly out of touch with the people and youth of Pakistan, how does he expect the Graduates of emulating a child prodigy, born gifted (RIP 2012) and then Malala,whose story began when she was shot.

One can certainly have aspirations, and for those aspirations to materialise there need to Graduate opportunities , e.g. in the civil service where these positions have already been reserved for the privileged.

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