Daily Times

A peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan. It is not just a statement, as Pakistan has always tried to fulfil its commitments made with the neighbouring and brotherly country. The investment by Pakistan in the Human Resource Development of Afghanistan is increasing day by day.

From medicine to education and from engineering to agriculture, there is no field left where Pakistan hasn’t invested in Afghanistan. Afghan students are here in Pakistan for higher studies in different subjects. Islamabad is very much sincere for Kabul to impart training to its people, which will be a great investment in human resources.

Pakistan always attaches high priority to having friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan and wishes to maintain a broad-based and mutually beneficial relationship with the brotherly country. Thousands of Afghan students have graduated from the universities of Pakistan and most of them also availed of scholarships. It continued even during tumultuous decades of conflict in the neighbouring country. After the withdrawal of foreign forces, Afghanistan is facing a brain drain for the last year as most of the skilled workforce left the country in panic. It is a matter of fact that Pakistan is genuinely committed to making Afghan youth able to excel in the education sector. It will help them constructively rebuild their own country. Pakistan is contributing to the field of education and research while launching many scholarship programs for the students of Afghanistan.

A peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan.

Allama Iqbal Scholarship Program (AIS) of Pakistan is a glaring example of how Islamabad is trying to help the students of Kabul. It was originally launched in 2009 and is considered one of the most popular education programs in Afghanistan. Under this program, Afghan students are placed in professional fields, including medicine, agriculture, engineering and business studies in large numbers. Allama Iqbal Scholarship will start its third phase this year for the years 2022-2031. The Government of Pakistan will offer 4500 new scholarships to Afghan youth under the said program. The main emphasis will be on the capacity building of Afghan youth by imparting quality education to them. The various fields of this scholarship include medicine, engineering, agriculture and management. It has been decided to allocate 1/3rd of the scholarship awards to female Afghan students. The move is tantamount to empowering women through the tool of education. More than 30,000 students from Afghanistan will compete for 1,500 coveted scholarships every year. These bright students will be placed in the best professional colleges and universities in Pakistan. A huge amount of over 12 billion will be allocated to support phase III of AIS. It shows the generosity and dedication of Pakistan to its neighbouring country Afghanistan. Some Afghan students faced many issues during the first two phases of the scholarship. Therefore, a strong mechanism is being devised to facilitate the students who will be the guests of Pakistan.

Moreover, Pakistan is spending a huge amount of money on educational infrastructure development in Afghanistan which has faced volatility for decades. Pakistan has built Liaquat Ali Khan Engineering Faculty Block in Bulkh University by spending Rs. 1.046 billion in Mazar-i-Sharif. For the development of educational infrastructure, Pakistan built Sir Syed Post Graduate Faculty Block for Rs. 389.65 million in Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. Pakistan spent Rs 120 million for the construction of Rehman Baba School while also building 6 primary schools and 2 Vocational Training Institutes in Kabul and Baghlan respectively. Pakistan also provided buses for the students and faculty of Kabul and Nangarhar universities while also giving 300,000 School Kits to 18 provinces of Afghanistan. There are 500,000 Afghan refugee students enrolled in the schools of Pakistan while 2000 students can get fully funded scholarships for higher education in this country.

The Khyber Medical University (KMU) syndicate and HEC gave the go-ahead to establish a campus in Kabul this year. It will be a great help to rebuild the dilapidated health sector of Afghanistan. Students of Afghanistan will also be able to get medical education in their own country instead of coming to Pakistan. The Pak-Afghan Graduate Association (PAGA) is a non-political organization, which is supported by the graduates of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was a step in the right direction to promote people-to-people contact and help the sustainable friendly relationship between the two countries. It merits mention here that around 35,000 Afghans got an education in Pakistani universities and colleges during the last 30 years. Currently, more than 7000 Afghan students are enrolled in various graduate and post-graduate programs in Pakistani colleges and universities. Around half a million refugee children also attended schools in Pakistan during this time. Moreover, the Pakistani Embassy established a Vocational Training Institute in January 2011 where Afghan graduates are imparted modern techniques of the English language and Computers by professional Pakistani teachers. As many as 3500 students including government functionaries representing different ministries including Labour Ministry and Health Ministry were given the best possible degree of training.

We can say that Pakistan is sincerely doing its efforts to reconstruct Afghanistan which has faced instability for decades. It is now a fact that a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan are knitted with the common fabric of history, culture, geography and faith. Therefore, Pakistan is an active partner to support the economic and social development of Afghanistan.

The writer is an old Aitchisonian who believes in freedom of expression, a freelance columnist, entrepreneur and social activist.