Shehbaz pledges to provide 10m laptops to country’s youth n Says Rs 10b allocated for vocational training n Launches Benazir Social Protection Account under BISP n Urges OIC to plan collective strategy against rising Islamophobia.

ISLAMABAD  -  Prime Minister Sheh­baz Sharif said youth is Pakistan's future and the country's prosper­ity is linked with them.

Addressing a ceremo­ny in connection with the distribution of lap­tops amongst the stu­dents of various univer­sities in Islamabad on Friday, he said if there are resources, he will provide ten million lap­tops to the youth as Pa­kistan's development and prosperity lie in it.

Referring to the steps being taken for their uplift, he said five bil­lion rupees have been allocated in the budget for provision of agricul­ture loans to the youth.

He said five billion rupees have also been earmarked to provide vocational training to them. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said billions of rupees have been allocated in the current fiscal year budget for distribution of one hundred thousand laptops on merit to the youth. Recalling the time when he was the chief minister of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif said hundreds of thousands of laptops were distributed amongst the youth.

He said these laptops enabled the youth to acquire education online and become freelancers after the breakout of Covid-19.

Shehbaz Sharif said it is the requirement of modern day that our educated and talented youth is equipped with the laptop.

He was confident that with the hard work of the youth, Pa­kistan would register major successes on the economic front and achieve its lost glory. In her remarks on the occasion, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima said the PML-N has always launched initiatives such as the Prime Minister Youth Programme to empower the youth.

Later, the prime minister launched the “Benazir Social Protec­tion Account” under the under the Benazir Income Support Pro­gramme enabling beneficiary women to receive payments di­rectly in their accounts through designated banks.

Addressing the ceremony, Shehbaz Sharif directed the BISP authorities to place a condition for the Programme beneficia­ries to get their children enrolled in schools to promote the ed­ucation culture in the country. He said it must be ensured that after a certain period the beneficiaries would get stipends only in case their children were attending schools.

Briefing about the salient features of the Benazir Social Pro­tection Account, Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Pro­tection Shazia Marri said under the new system, beneficiary women would have the option to select the bank of their choice, and they would receive the payments directly in their accounts which they could withdraw at their convenience.

She said four banks namely National Bank of Pakistan, Bank Alfalah, JS Bank Limited and United Bank Limited have been ini­tially selected through a competitive process for the new pay­ment model. Shehbaz Sharif appreciated Minister Shazia Marri for her hard work to expand the Programme, particularly intro­duction of the Benazir Social Protection Account which would help the beneficiaries to receive the stipends without any has­sle, besides ensuring transparency in the system.

Shazia Marri said last year, the BISP’s budget was increased from 235 billion rupees to 404.2 billion rupees, with an overall increase of 72 percent taking the number of beneficiaries from 7.2 million to 9 million, which was a testament of the coalition government’s commitment to protect the most vulnerable and marginalized segment of society. Besides, the number of fami­lies eligible for the BISP has risen from 7.6 million to 9 million.

A book titled “15 Years of Benazir Income Support Programme” encompassing 15-year journey of the Benazir Income Support Programme was also launched during the ceremony. In a lat­er development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a telephonic conversation with OIC Secretary-General Hissein Ibrahim Taha, emphasized that the OIC must chalk out a coordinated and com­prehensive strategy to raise global awareness about its perspec­tive and building legal and political deterrence against rising in­cidents of anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia. Referring to the recurring incidents of burning of the Holy Quran, the prime min­ister conveyed Pakistan’s strong condemnation of these wilful and provocative acts, which have hurt sentiments of Muslims world­wide. He stressed that vilification of religion, revered religious personalities, Holy Scriptures and symbols could not be condoned on the self-serving pretext of freedom of expression and protest. The prime minister appreciated the OIC secretary-general’s role in articulating Muslim Ummah’s concerns and demands about these Islamophobic trends and incidents. While welcoming the convening of an urgent debate at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on the issue, the prime minister further underscored that the OIC must raise the issue with the UN secretary-general and at other relevant forums and bodies within the UN system.