Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture Attaullah Tarar on Thursday stressed the need to provide maximum opportunities to the youth by correcting the priorities in the fields of information technology(IT), agriculture, education, and sports arena. Addressing the National Youth Convention here he said Pakistan was a lucky country as its 60% population consisted of youth below 30 years of age who could change the destiny of the nation. “There is a need to correct the direction and economy of the country, bring IT revolution, and promote quality education to the new generation”, the minister said. He urged the young generation to understand the vision behind the creation of a separate state for Muslims in the subcontinent. He remarked that Indian atrocities in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and on Indian Muslims across the border had vindicated the stance of Muslims for an independent state. He said that Kashmiris were still struggling to become part of Pakistan with great resolve, resilience, and determination despite the brutality and oppression of Indian rulers. He told the participants of the convention that the Quaid-e-Azam was supported by a large number of youths in the Pakistan Movement. “The youth contributed to the creation of this country, and the youth will change the destiny of this country”, the information minister remarked. He said that Muslim migration from Makkah to Madinah and from India to Pakistan had a lesson for everyone. He said that about 12,00,000 people sacrificed their lives during migration to Pakistan in 1947 as trains carrying Muslims were attacked and passengers butchered mercilessly. He said countless women and girls were raped and molested during the process of migration. He said the holy blood of tens of thousands of martyrs was in the foundations of Pakistan which was created on the 27th of Ramazan. He said that Allah Almighty had created Pakistan on the holiest night of Laila Tul Qadr and he had the belief that this country would prosper, develop, and survive till eternity. He said now it was the responsibility and duty of the new generation to work hard to make Pakistan a strong, modern, developed nation. “Pakistanis are a determined and hardworking nation and Arshad Nadeem’s success is a beacon and a source of inspiration for youth “, he maintained. Referring to the determination and hard work of Arshad Nadeem, the minister said he made the first javelin by breaking a tree branch in his village near Mian Channu. He said overcoming all hardships Arshad Nadeem brought the entire nation together by winning the gold medal as the entire nation celebrated his historic victory in a befitting way. He said under the Prime Minister’s Laptop scheme, free-of-cost laptops were given on merit to students of educational institutions. He said that laptops given to youth under the PM scheme played an important role in keeping the national economy stable during Covid 19. Similarly, he said that the PML-N government launched the Danish School system in Punjab for deserving students in the most backward areas and this step paid dividends. Making long and alluring speeches was easier than doing something practical for the welfare of the people of the country, he opined. He said that unfortunately in this digital age, controversies and sensational things attract the attention of the users and constructive achievements fail to get proper coverage. He stressed the need to fight the tendency of despair and despondency through the creation of hope and providing opportunities to the youth so that their talent could be utilized in a better manner for nation building process. “Our IT exports have tripled within the last four months and that too at a time when the world is facing recession in the field of information technology”, he informed. He said that a record number of start-ups were coming in Pakistan and IT experts were emerging which was a good omen. The minister said that Pakistan’s youth had accomplished a lot on their own and it was the responsibility of the governments to provide them opportunities to further hone their talent. He said that the development of the nation depended on the development of the youth.