Pakistan Attach Utmost Importance to the Development of Health and Education in Afghanistan: Sadiq

KABUL - Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, while addressing a sending off ceremony arranged by the Pakistan Embassy for Afghan students proceeding to various Pakistani universities under a scholarship programme, said that Pakistan accorded significant importance to the development and strengthening of health and education sectors in Afghanistan.  In this regard, Pakistan had accomplished a number of projects, he said, for the well-being of Afghan in the health and education sectors particularly  the construction of  Liaquat Ali Khan Engineering University at Balkh, Rehman Baba Hostel, Kabul, Allama Iqbal Faculty of Humanities, Kabul University, Sir Syed Post Graduate Faculty of Sciences, Nangarhar University,  Jalalabad, Nishtar Kidney Centre, Jalalabad, 400-beds Jinnah Hospital, Kabul, 200-beds Naeb Aminullah Khan Hospital, Logar and the 73 km Torkham-Jalalabad dual carriageway.

Ambassador Sadiq added that the people of Afghanistan had been benefitting from these projects.  Highlighting the importance of education, he advised that education was a key to success and urged the students to concentrate on their studies and play their role in the capacity building and development of Afghanistan.

Speaking on the occasion, the Ambassador said that Pakistan had been offering fully funded scholarships to Afghan students since 2009 under the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s Scholarship Scheme for Afghan Students, and currently, about 2000 Afghan students, have been studying in various disciplines including medical, engineering, agriculture, computer science, business administration and economics in top universities of Pakistan.

This year 600 Afghan students would be proceeding to Pakistan in pursuit of higher education in various disciplines funded by Pakistan, he said. He went on to add that more than 30,000 Afghan had graduated from the educational institutions of Pakistan during the last three decades and most of them have returned to their homeland and are playing a significant role in the reconstruction, capacity building and socio-economic uplift of their country.  He said that such programs would go, indeed a long way in promoting education in Afghanistan as well as people to people contacts between the two countries. (PR)