Dera visit: Sharif lays medical college’s foundation

Sharif says beggar­y has destro­yed Pakist­an’s econom­y, respec­t and self esteem.

DERA GHAZI KHAN: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday laid the foundation stone of Ghazi Medical College and Ghazi University during his visit to Dera Ghazi Khan.

The medical college would be constructed at a cost of Rs2 billion. Classes had already started at the college temporarily housed at Quaid-e-Azam Medical College, Bahalwalpur.

Sharif also inaugurated the newly-built building of Dera Ghazi Khan Arts Council during the visit and distributed interest-free loans among the selected applicants from Rs1 billion Akhuwat fund.

Sharif said the fund was his government’s initiative to promote self-employment in the province.

Speaking at a ceremony organised by the Punjab Education Endowment Fund, he said the government had so far given scholarships to more than 35,000 students with the money collected in the PEEF. He announced that Rs8.2 billion had been collected in the fund. He said up to 50,000 students would get scholarships from PEEF in the next year.

Students protest

Dozens of students staged a protest against the administration’s refusal to let them attend the event.

They said they were to get prizes at the ceremony and had come all the way from Layyah, Muzafargarh, Rajanpur and Jatoi to attend it. They criticised the administration for keeping them away from the event and instead letting political workers who had come with the politicians to be seated in the audience section.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2011.