Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture Attaullah Tarar said on Tuesday that Pakistan’s youth with its hard work, resilience, and determination would make it a developed and prosperous country. Addressing the National Youth Summit as chief guest here, he said that Pakistan was founded on the dream of Allama Iqbal, which turned into reality under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The minister said that the youth of the subcontinent gained freedom by supporting the Quaid-e-Azam in the struggle for freedom. “Through the resolve and determination of the Muslim youth of the subcontinent we achieved the goal of freedom “, he maintained. The youth carried the message of the Quaid-e-Azam to every nook and cranny of the subcontinent and helped create awareness among the Muslims about the importance of Pakistan. He said was an honour to address the best and most talented youth of Pakistan present at the event. He said Pakistan had abundance of talented youth who were playing an important role in the development of the country. Young people were representing Pakistan on every forum, he said adding that they could shape the world scenario in a unique way. He said there was a need for a lot of work as far as climate change was concerned. “We have suffered many losses due to adverse effects of climate change in the shape of floods and cyclones”, he remarked. He expressed the hope that Pakistani youth would play their role in mitigating the effects of climate change. He said Pakistan’s youth were striving for gender equality, better health facilities, and the overall well-being of the people of the country and region. He said local youth were working in the digital field and Pakistani start-ups were considered the best in the world. He said empowering the youth was the need of the hour and the government was taking various steps to empower the youth. He said that all over the world Pakistani youth was known for resilience and innovation. He said it was the youth of this country that created a separate state for Muslims and they will save this country and take it to great heights. Pakistani youth, he opined not only have the potential but can reshape the future of the world as we are moving towards a common shared future of humanity. Appreciating the young girls in the summit, he said it was not easy to make a mark as a female as there were many impediments in the way. He said still there was a need for more efforts to ensure gender equality so that girls could also play a more effective role in the nation-building process. He said that the government was fully aware and willing to support the Pakistani youth working in the digital field. He said there was a need to make the National Youth Council more active and give youth a role in the decision-making and policy-making process. The government was working day and night for the strengthening of the country’s economy, Attaullah Tarar said. He said following the Israeli attack on Gaza, Pakistan gave admission to 200 Palestinian medical students in Pakistani institutions. He said Israel was committing genocide of armless Palestinians, and its forces were involved in war crimes. The United Nations should take action to stop the genocide of Palestinians and the international community must force Israel to halt its invasion. He remarked that Pakistan wanted the restoration of the pre-1967 borders and a free Palestinian state. He said that youth can play a key role in ensuring a peaceful world. The minister said those who were silent over the Palestinian genocide were partners in the war crimes being committed by the Israeli forces. He said that youth in Gaza and the West Bank must have equal opportunities like the youth world over.