DALLAS: Focal person of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Syed Zeeshan Ali Naqvi, has emphasised that 70% of Pakistan’s population consists of youth and therefore PM Shehbaz Sharif is personally monitoring all the initiatives so that young people can play a direct role in the country’s progress.
Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Pakistani-American organisation Stand With Pakistan in Dallas — attended by a large number of community leaders and young people — Naqvi explained that under the programme, interest-free loans ranging from Rs300,000 to Rs600,000 were being provided to help youth start their own businesses.
For those seeking employment abroad, loans of up to Rs1 million were available to cover visa and travel costs. He noted that Rs75 billion had been allocated for this purpose in the current fiscal year, while over Rs186 billion had already been disbursed.
He added that millions of young people had been facilitated in securing overseas employment and that the Digital Youth Hub was connecting them with jobs and training opportunities nationwide.
Highlighting that the scheme to distribute laptops to promote higher education had been revived, the focal person noted that 100,000 laptops were scheduled to be distributed by October.
Grants and scholarships for universities had also been restored, and further increases in education spending were expected in the upcoming budget, he added.
Naqvi further said that national athletes, including javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, were receiving training under the Youth Programme, while traditional sports such as tent pegging were being promoted through events in Islamabad attended by foreign diplomats.
Additionally, he pointed out that Pakistan had, for the first time, secured the chairmanship of the Commonwealth Youth Alliance Secretariat and the Youth Ministers’ Task Force, enabling enhanced cooperation with 56 countries.
He also announced that a youth festival would soon be held to provide training, jobs and start-up opportunities, while masterclasses would help young people acquire global skills.
During the question-and-answer session, participants asked about transparency in loan distribution, overseas employment opportunities and the education budget to which the official responded that the government’s vision was clear: young people would be provided skills, capital and opportunities simultaneously.
“The state is providing resources and pathways; the rest is up to the youth,” he said, while inviting the Pakistani diaspora to support cultural and sports events, which could pave the way for youth exchanges between Pakistan and the US.
