LAHORE, Aug 4: Punjab Agriculture Minister Arshad Lodhi said on Wednesday the objectives for which Pakistan was created could not be achieved.

He was speaking at a seminar on 'youth as ambassadors of national unity and peace' at Alhamra. It was organized by the All Pakistan Youth Federation (APYF) in connection with the International Youth Day.

Mr Lodhi said the literacy rate in the country was actually 18 per cent. The official figure included the people who could merely put their signature on documents. The government, he claimed, had taken a number of steps to materialize the dreams of Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbal.

A number of uplift schemes had been launched in health, education and social welfare sectors. The government was contemplating to set up agro-based processing plants and factories in rural areas.

Youth had been the vanguard in the independence movement. Keeping in view the importance of youth, 18-year-old people had been given the right to vote. Chief Minister's Adviser Mowahid Husain Shah regretted that no attention was being given to character-building and the focus had been on construction of roads, buildings etc.

He said after 9/11 the world was going through similar phase as was in 1930s and the status quo was coming to an end. He urged the youth to raise voice against injustice, inequity and hypocrisy.

Minister for Food Chaudhry Iqbal said the youth should utilize the facilities in the country which were not available to their immediate ancestors. Minister for Excise Dr Shafiq Chaudhry stressed the need for character-building and asked the youth to follow the teachings of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

Chief Minister's Adviser Dr Faiza Asghar said the government was planning to set up complexes where educational and recreation facilities would be available for youth. She said the budget allocations for education had been increased manifold, the special education and child rights departments were established. "It has become our habit to blame the government."

Minister for Education Imran Masood said a sum of Rs43 billion was earmarked for the provision of missing facilities in the schools and colleges of the province.