LAHORE - Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid foundation stone of the main campus of Information Technology University on Barki Road Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, he called for joint efforts to make Pakistan a prosperous state as envisaged by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. “The country cannot move ahead economically unless the gap between rich and poor is filled. We have to make the county Jinnah’s Pakistan that is far behind many countries, though it has become a nuclear state,” he added.

He also greeted VC Dr Umar Saif, faculty and students on the occasion. The chief minister reiterated his resolve to bring in education reforms. He took a swipe at previous governments for ignoring education sector and minting money in the name of development projects.

The CM said: “The birth anniversary of Jinnah is nearing and we all should follow his teachings. IT University is a prestigious institution of higher education amicably developed by VC Dr Umar Saif. Punjab government is setting up the main campus of this university at an area of 183 acres of land. A few years ago, this precious piece of land was encroached upon. Punjab government has won this case from the Supreme Court and the precious land has been gifted so that you could get best of the best education.” He lamented that there were tenures in the past when such kind of precious land was usurped upon with each other, instead of utilizing it for the benefit of the youth, but the PML-N government has provided resources worth billions of rupees for youth-development and national prosperity. He said that this costly piece of land worth Rs.15 billion has been given for providing higher education to the youth and termed it the beneficial investment for future. He said that there is no dearth of anything in the country and if the passions of commitment, hard work and dedication are employed then everything is possible.