Democratic strength: Ballot the only way to bring change, says Iqbal

The minister says information technology was driving the knowledge revolution today

LAHORE: The ballot is the only proper way to bring change in a democratic society, Federal Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said while addressing a laptop distribution ceremony under the Prime Minister’s Laptops Distribution Scheme at Government College University (GCU), Lahore.

“It is nothing but fiction that Pakistan is sinking. In reality, Pakistan has made substantial progress and continues to make irreversible progress under the current government,” said Ahsan.

“Just three years ago, Pakistan was labelled as the most dangerous place by the international media. Today, the same media recognises Pakistan as an emerging market and a destination for billions of dollars of CPEC investment,” he added.

Talking about the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme, the minister said information technology was driving the knowledge revolution today. “We cannot become part of this revolution without equipping our students with the latest IT gadgets and connecting them to the cyber world,” he said.

“Connectivity matters the most, a student in Gilgit is as much connected as a student of Harvard and other top universities of the world,” the minister for planning and development said.

He said that they had provided over a million laptops to the youth purely on merit irrespective of their political affiliations or voting preferences.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2016.