August 13, 2007	Monday	Rajab 28, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 12: Celebrating young people on the International Youth Day on Sunday, the government for the first time honoured youngsters for their significant contributions towards their communities.

Celebrated around the world on August 12, this year the theme of the event was “Be Seen, Be Heard: Youth Participation For Development.”

At the National Youth Awards ceremony, the Ministry of Youth Affairs honoured 14 boys and girls for accomplishments in sports, education, community services, science and technology, literature, and culture.

The day showcased the work of young people while drawing attention to challenges that lie ahead.

According to Secretary Ministry of Youth Affairs, Ashfaq Ahmad, the selection process was transparent and a daunting task.

Doing Pakistan proud in the world of sports, was Nauman Karim from Punjab. He is a gold medalist in SAF Games 2006 in boxing and won 18 gold medals in international and national boxing competitions.

Mansoor Zaman (NWFP), No. 1 in squash in national ranking and 24th in international ranking, is a gold medalist in SAF games, 2005 and winner of bronze medal in Asian games.

Qurattulain from Sindh is the captain of Pakistan Netball team, who participated in European Champion held in Colombo 2002. She won gold medals in national netball championship in 2001, 2005, 2007 and won various gold medals at provincial level.

Providing an inspiring look into the future of science and technology, Amina Malik and Fahad Aman Khan from Rawalpindi are aerospace engineers and designed an unmanned aircraft.

Fatima Shami from Islamabad had developed a device for speech impaired and deaf persons. She was awarded grand award for her modern device on the National Science Olympiad 2007. Her device had also been recognised by the International Engineering Fair 2007 in USA.

In community services, Shuja Ahmed Mahesar from Sindh was a prominent social work whose contributions in the aftermath of the October 8 earthquake had been recognised by the vice-chancellors of the University of Jamshoro and University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Imran Khan from Balochistan established Shajar Environmental Youth Club in Quetta. He has rendered services for elimination of polio and also got gold medal from Khidmat-i-Khalq Foundation and Balochistan Youth Front by the Balochistan governor. Imran was also honoured with a pride of performance award on World Children Day by the prime minister.

In the field of education, Uzma Sadiq from Punjab got first position in Dera Ghazi Khan Board in arts, first position in university in BA and second position in MSc from Bahauddin Zakaria University, Multan.

With highest marks in physics, math, chemistry and accounting in the world in O-level, Syedah Aroob Iqbal from Sindh also secured highest grade in other subjects in the region.

Shahid Ali from Northern Areas secured record marks (93 per cent) at secondary school certificate level from the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) in whole Northern Areas.

In the field of literature, Talib Hussain Talib from Balochistan wrote two books on Urdu poetry and also participated in different essay competitions. Saleem Akhtar from Punjab wrote an anthology of English verse “Pale Leaves” of high quality.

Promoting the Pakistani culture, Mohammad Ashraf from Punjab was recognised as a calligrapher who won international awards in calligraphy in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Fine Arts student and sculptor, Shafaq Shamim, from NWFP got gold medal from Turkish Chief of Army Staff on her project “nature teaches more than she preaches.”

Two Jinnah Awards were also awarded to All Pakistan Youth Federation, Punjab, and Pakistan International Human Rights Organization (PIHRO).

“Today we celebrate the dynamism, skills, interests and aspirations of the young. And we celebrate the fact that young people can and are making positive contributions right across the board,” said Minister of Youth Affairs Sumaira Malik.