ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that PTI and MQM-P would contest the next general elections together.

Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of Hyderabad University here on Thursday, Imran praised the role of the MQM-P ministers in the federal cabinet and said he found them most competent persons.

He explained that his party was initially worried about the history of MQM militancy in the urban areas of Sindh especially in the port city, Karachi. Whereas, he said, MQM-P is a more democratic force and has devoted its energy on the wellbeing of its constituents.

About the university project, the Prime Minister said that educating country’s youth was one of the main pillars of ‘Naya Pakistan’ and this is the only way the country will prosper.

He said no nation can progress without equipping its youth with good and quality education. “It is of the utmost importance to educate our young population to take us forward,” he said, adding the government was making efforts to ensure that every Pakistani has access to education.

He lamented that despite Urdu being the national language public speakers choose to speak in English.

The prime minister said it was imperative to provide the youth with education as without this they would not be able to find jobs and make a better life for themselves and their families.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that dispensation of justice and provision of education are the two pillars of the idea of Naya Pakistan.

“It is of the utmost importance to educate our young population to take us forward,” he said, adding that, the government was making efforts to ensure that every Pakistani has access to education.

He lamented that despite Urdu being the national language public speakers choose to speak in English.

The prime minister said it was imperative to provide the youth with education as without this they would not be able to find jobs and make a better life for themselves and their families.

He said that if the country’s young population is deprived of education then they would turn to criminal activities out of desperation.

Pakistan, he said, was at a turning point where it can become a thriving and prosperous nation based on the vision of its founding fathers.

The Prime Minister said the government believes in investing in the human capital of the country to ensure durable development and progress.

He said education provides the real security to a country and the nation. He said no society can progress without imparting quality education.

He said a skilled and educated youth can play a pivotal role in uplifting a country and elimination of poverty.

He said higher education is a pivot for progress and development and Hyderabad University will be developed on technical and scientific grounds.

He assured full support of the federal government in the establishment and development of the Hyderabad University.

Imran Khan also said that Al-Qadir University is being established in the private sector at Sohawa in Jehlum, where science and Sufism will be taught to promote tolerance and present true picture of Islam.

Earlier speaking on the occasion, Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood said Higher Education Commission has forwarded a project costing two billion rupees for the establishment of Hyderabad University, which will be approved. He said soon land will also be acquired for the University.

Shafqat Mehmood said curriculum will be upgraded to the requirements of the present times. He said special focus is being made on quality and standard setting in the domain of higher education.

Minister for Information Technology Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui thanked the prime minister for fulfilling the longstanding demand of the people of Hyderabad.

He said the University will play its due role in equipping the youth of the area with modern knowledge, which will become foundation of a prosperous Pakistan.

Governor Sindh Imran Ismail said establishment of the Hyderabad University was the common desire of both PTI and the MQM.

He said today Imran Khan fulfilled the desire and need of establishment of a university in Pakistan’s third largest city, which was deprived of an institution of higher learning.