Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wedfnesday said he is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kashmiri freedom fighter Syed Ali Gilani who struggled all his life for his people and their right to self determination.

“He suffered incarceration and torture by the occupying Indian state but remained resolute. We in Pakistan salute his courageous struggle and remember his words, “Hum Pakistani hain aur Pakistan hamara hai,” the prime minister said in tweet.

The prime minister said the Pakistan flag will fly at half mast and the country will observe a day of official mourning.

Veteran Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani passed away Wednesday night at his home in Srinagar, capital of Indian Occupied Kashmir at the age of 91.

Separately, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said the government was focused on providing education to all children across the country and giving incentives to prevent dropouts from schools.

Addressing at the launch of Ehsaas Education Stipends programme here, the prime minister said as over 20 million children in the country were out of schools, efforts were underway to ensure their inclusion in the educational mainstream. The Ehsaas Education Stipends programme was aimed at providing financial assistance to the deserving households for the education of their children at primary, secondary and higher secondary levels. Rolled out nationwide in 160 districts, the programme had been structured to give higher amount of stipend to girls as compared to boys.

The prime minister said ensuring education for all was a priority of the government, adding that stipends as incentives would be a step to encourage parents for sending their children, particularly girls to schools. He said an educated woman could contribute more positively towards the society and lauded the policy of Ehsaas Stipends programme to give higher amount to girls.

Terming educated human resource a great asset for a nation, he said it was important to provide educational opportunities to both boys and girls. He dismissed the impression in western world that Pakistanis did not want to educate their girls. He recalled that during his visits to different parts of the country, he found no such parents opposing the right of education for their daughters. However, he said the factors including distant schools or unavailability of female teachers could be a reason.

Imran Khan said it was mainly the responsibility of the government to provide facilities of education to all. He appreciated that by use of information technology, the stipends would be disbursed transparently after proper checking of fake entries and ghost schools.

The prime minister also announced a one-time Ehsaas graduation bonus of Rs. 3,000 to encourage girls to complete primary education. This award would be given to girl students completing Grade 5 from Ehsaas eligible families. The graduation bonus had been designed to encourage girls’ education till secondary level.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed to take all the stakeholders into confidence for further improvement in the law and order situation in Balochistan. With the historic development package presented for the province for the first time, the government was taking measures for the progress and prosperity of the people of Balochistan, he added.

The prime minister was talking to Governor Balochistan Syed Zahoor Agha, who called on him here. During the meeting, matters relating to law and order situation in Balochistan and the ongoing development projects were discussed. The prime minister further said that agricultural transformation plan besides helping the Baloch farmers will ensure the development of agriculture in the province.