Consensus to be developed on appointment of next CEC soon: Fawad Chaudhry
Fawad Chaudhry said the present government had increased the science and technology budget
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Monday said consensus would be developed on the appointment of next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) soon.
The consensus was being developed on the names of the members of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), he said while speaking to the media persons after the launch of Microsoft Imagine Cup 2020 at Higher Education Commission (HEC).
Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief Justice and Army Chief all wanted to strengthen the institutions, he said while stressing the need to hold a national level dialogue with participation of all of them.
To a question, the federal minister said we were in consensus on the matter of Army Chief Act amendment. Army Chief did not belong to a single party but to the whole country, he added.
To another question, he said Cricket Board had to take steps to improve the performance of Pakistani cricket team and held cricket board responsible for bad performance of team.
Speaking during the ceremony, the federal Minister demanded to withdraw the First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against students for participating in political activities.
The political parties in the past use to exploit the student unions for their own purposes which damaged the reputation of those student unions.
Student Unions existed in all the international level institutions including Harvard and Oxford universities and were an integral part of democratic societies which helped inculcate political acumen in the youth, he added.
Fawad Chaudhry said the present government had increased the science and technology budget up to 600 times which would be further increased up to 1000 times.
He said four percent of the total budget would be spent on bio technology till the next year, adding our future lied in education.
He said Pakistan was the top country during the industrial revolution in 1960 and sent its first mission in the space in 1962.
The initial development in science and technology sector was encouraging in Pakistan however the country lagged behind in this sector with passage of time, he added.
The minister said science and technology ministry was a scattered institution but now
things were moving towards right direction.
Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs, Usman Dar said the government was going to launch start-up programmes for providing maximum opportunities to the youth to emerge as useful citizens.
‘’Start-up programme is indispensable for the success of any project in Pakistan”, he added.
He said the government would establish a biggest platform under Kamyab Naujawan initiative to utilize the potential of youth for constructive purposes.
So far, around 600,000 youth has applied for Kamyab Naujawan programme aimed at providing maximum facilities to the youth.
“Supporting youth means supporting the whole economy of the country”, he said.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had allocated Rs 100 billion for the uplift of youth.
The government was also planning to launch “Hunarmand Naujawan” programme to provide skills to the youth keeping in mind the latest 21st century requirements and internship programme for youth, he added.
Usman Dar underlined the need to explore more opportunities and platforms for the youth to become successful citizens as well as play their role in the country’s development.
Fawad Chaudhry and Usman Dar formally launched Pakistan Imagine Cup 2020 in the presence of a number of educationists, scholars and officials.
Microsoft’s Country Manager, Abid Zaidi and Chairman HEC, Dr. Tariq Banuri also spoke on the occasion.
