Caretaker Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi said on Wednesday that research and pursuit of knowledge were imperative to overcome multiple challenges currently faced by the country.
Delivering the speech at the Fourth Convocation of Information Technology University, he said nations did face challenges and Pakistan, with the grace of Allah Almighty, would also overcome multiple challenges being faced now.
The minister said that a country could develop only through acquiring knowledge and education.
Stressing the role of students in overcoming these challenges, he said it was necessary to end negative propaganda.
The motto of almost all religions was that humans should become good persons, Murtaza Solangi said, adding that education promoted humanity and a friendly attitude in society.
He said Pakistan was facing diverse, unprecedented and extraordinary challenges, including economic crisis and intolerant and violent behaviour. He said that every day, everyone in the country
witnessed emergency impacts. Another challenge was the diminishing hope in youth and the younger generation.
He said with the passage of time, traditions were fading away in the society. Additionally, the rampant use of social media platforms has resulted in toxic, slanderous propaganda full of lies and disinformation. He said it was unfortunate that those who upload total lies and fake information get more viewers and earn more money after monetising their content.
In the end, he read the prologue of the play ‘Exception in the Rule’ by German playwright Bertolt Brecht, which elucidated the story of a wealthy merchant. In the convocation, 524 students were awarded degrees, five were awarded PhD degrees, and 16 were awarded gold medals.
Governor Punjab Balighur Rehman, Vice Chancellor ITU Professor Dr Adnan Noor, Vice Chancellors of various universities, deans, faculty members and many students were present.