RAWALPINDI, April 23: National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf has stressed on human resource development to achieve progress in fields like economy and science. He said this while speaking as chief guest at Job Fair 2005 organized by the Nust Institute of Management Sciences (Nims) here on Saturday.

Dr Ashraf said Pakistan had abundant human resources, but due to improper utilization, the desired benefits could not be achieved. This human capital should be properly utilized so that it could stimulate scientific and economic progress, he said.

Economic success is vital to national progress and prosperity, he said, adding that “the economic boom in our neighbourhood alone has necessitated the genesis of quality business institutes that can produce professional and reliable entrepreneurs attuned to the requirements of international markets”. Thus, higher education, both academic and research-based, is becoming a necessity, he said.

The NCHD chairman cited the examples of Asian economic giants like China, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore and Korea where, according to him, entrepreneurial spirit had brought about economic miracles. The business world, he said, was intense and beyond inertia; it was constantly driven towards change. “Our country, like many developing nations, hovers on the periphery of a domain exclusive to states with economic clout,” he said.

The chief guest underlined the role of the National University of Science and Technology in furnishing industry with quality human resource through its institutions like Nims. The institute, he said, was making invaluable contribution to business education in Pakistan.