SWABI  -  Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq on Wednesday, calling the brain drain a part of talent hunt, said those leaving Pakistan for better oppor­tunities would eventually become a strength for the country, which ought to be encouraged.

The prime minister, in an inter­active session with the students of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of En­gineering, Science and Technology, exemplified the Indian nationals who had left their country and returned as an asset to contribute to their country. Responding to a question about the measures taken by the government to stop the brain drain, he said those leaving the country were not going to vanish, rather they would seize bet­ter economic opportunities and skills, which should be encouraged.

He said after improving their skills and qualifications, they would become a valuable asset and product as the world was in search of talent. “I consider their journey a part of the talent hunt,” he added.

He said there was no evidence of any dramatic surge in brain drain in the prevailing circum­stances rather it was a contin­uous process of skilled, semi-skilled, and non-skilled people moving abroad for better eco­nomic opportunities. He said the export of human resources was an important component of the country’s GDP.

To a question about the ar­rest of Imran Khan, he said the state had an inherent right to apprehend those who violated the laws. He was arrested under certain laws, not by the PML-N, PPP or JUI, he added.

He urged the educated class to also debate their political at­titudes besides asserting their right to agitate.

Prime Minister Kakar called for adopting the “all of us” ap­proach, in addition to encour­aging qualitative discussions for betterment of the society. He said democracy should morph towards the performing democ­racy as the performance was the key indicator to judge the suc­cess of the democratic system. He said transitional democracies like Pakistan could not turn into settled democracies for not giv­ing due focus on performance. To another question, he said ev­ery individual was responsible for defending the ideological frontiers of the nation. 

He said Islam was not the name of a reactionary move­ment but a reformist movement that encouraged any type of dia­logue that otherwise would im­pact society negatively.

Responding to another que­ry, he said no one, including the state, could suppress crit­ical thinking, but being a criti­cal thinker did not necessarily require being abusive in con­versation. “Unfortunately, criti­cal thinkers are not being born. This is the tragedy. I am trying to find my Rousseau and Vol­taire of my time,” he remarked.

Asked about the reasons be­hind the low ratio of girls’ ed­ucation, he said the situation would not change unless the people built influences volun­tarily and started taking pride in the accomplishments of the girls as well, not merely the boys. He said the change in the society’s attitude was of para­mount importance as the gov­ernment’s intervention alone would not suffice to overcome the situation.

He assured that the State of Pakistan did not discriminate, on the basis of gender and the challenges of primary and high­er education could only be tack­led by the State through col­laborations at the district and Tehsil levels.

The prime minister said the academia-industry linkage was crucial for reaping the econom­ic dividends as well as estab­lishing an ecosystem to create opportunities for the graduates and fulfill corporate require­ments.

PROMOTING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY KEY TO ACHIEVE RAPID DEVELOPMENT: PM

Later, addressing at the GIKI in Topi area of Swabi, the PM emphasized that focusing on science and technology was im­portant to achieve goals of fast development in the country. 

He said the institute was play­ing vital role in promotion of science and technology as it was preparing high quality gradu­ates in a range of fields of engi­neering sciences. 

The prime minister recalled that when he visited GIKI for the first time in 1990s, he was much impressed by the not only the infrastructure of the insti­tute but also the quality of ed­ucation and energy of students. 

He said Allah Almighty cre­ated human being for a noble cause. The ability to think, the ability to conceptualize things and seeking knowledge makes the human being different from the angels, he added. 

The prime minister said Pa­kistan was formed to have the prestigious educational insti­tutions such as GIKI. He also stressed the need to establish replicas of this institute in oth­er parts of the country. He said he would try his best to estab­lish GIKI campuses in all prov­inces of the country.