100k e-bikes promised to students

LAHORE:

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced that 100,000 e-bikes will be provided to students of then province.

At a Honhar Scholarship Programme ceremony at FAST University, she also announced steps for international scholarships.

The chief minister said the number of students benefitting from the Honhar Scholarship would be increased to 50,000 from 30,000 annually.

She also took a pledge from the students not to do anything against the country, not to leave it and to serve it.

"Is such a leadership justified in having their own children outside the country and other people's children in jail? No mother can teach her children the lesson of burning, besieging, vandalising and beating. Those who teach children to abuse and accuse cannot be sympathetic to them. Abusing anyone is unethical. The young generation should pledge not to do anything against their beloved homeland," she said.

"I thank my opponents who have made me so strong through their undue harsh criticism. I should thank the opponents who have made me strong today. The opponents are worried as why children are getting scholarships as 2,500 students from Rawalpindi division alone got prestigious scholarships," she added.

She said, "I will tell my children and sons that it is your responsibility to respect your mothers, sisters and daughters. I endured imprisonment, faced trials and have become tough after going through political hardships. Despite being a woman, I underwent character assassination due to political rivalry. After seven or eight years, the economy is improving. When PML-N government took over, the country was at the verge of default, now good news has started coming."

The chef minister said discussions were under way to build a campus of an international university in the Nawaz Sharif IT City.

She said, "Big Chinese business houses are eager to invest in Pakistan. We have respect and recognition because of Pakistan. Think for five minutes every day what we can do for our country.

I am a mother and I am thinking about fulfilling the responsibility of arranging employment of my children after their education. We want to protect self-respect and dignity of our children.

Loans amounting up to to Rs30 million will be given to the youth to earn a respectable living. The state will also fulfill its responsibility of providing employment to the youth after their education. I want to bring everything that is available in developed countries including China for my children in Pakistan. Punjab wants to teach and learn according to global trends. It was surprising to see small children studying robotics, artificial intelligence and cyber security in Chinese schools."

She added, "I never work against merit. Often the assembly members get angry over it."

The chief minister also said the government would launch a laptop scheme in Punjab. "Social equality is possible only through education around the world."

Meanwhile, in a statement, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz congratulated the Pakistan Cricket Team on winning an ODI series against South Africa.

Report sought

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz took notice of an alleged incident of gang rape and murder of a girl in Bahawalpur and sought a report from the RPO in this regard. She expressed heartfelt sympathies and condolence with the bereaved family.