GUJRAT: Governor Baleeghur Rehman has urged the students and youth to believe in facts and figures instead of becoming a propaganda tool and try to convince others on the basis of research-based figures while always respecting the opinion of others.

He said the students must exercise their right to vote for those who had actually served the country and they should not believe in hearsay.

The governor was addressing the 8th convocation of University of Gujrat (UoG) here on Thursday. Former PML N lawmakers, prominent social figures and parents of the graduates were also present.

Says narrative was built on social media against corruption contrary to facts

“If the students think that corruption is Pakistan’s top issue, they should look into the facts that in which government’s tenure, Pakistan’s rating in world corruption index improved as per the Transparency International’s report instead of listening to that government, which had built a narrative on social media against corruption when practically Pakistan’s rating in corruption index was lowered,” said the governor and added that from 2018’s ranking of 112, the country’s ranking reached at 140 in 2022.

Mr Rehman said the student enrolment had increased by at least 8m from 2013 to 2018 due to the better policies of the government of that time; however, consistency in the policies was required to achieve the goal of progress.

He deplored that society lacked research-based knowledge and it was the primary obligation of the universities to promote the culture of research.

He said there was a lot of viral material on social media that was being promoted in the name of research but in fact such material had never been found in any research so students and society had to be vigilant regarding such topics.

The governor commended the role of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Parvez Elahi in the establishment of the UoG as well as the PML N government that had established Nawaz Sharif Medical College (NSMC).

He distributed the degrees and gold medals among the students.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2023