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.