KARACHI, Dec 5 Former federal minister Javed Jabbar said on Friday that the country could not make headway unless every citizen discharged his duties and fulfilled his responsibilities.

Speaking at the golden jubilee ceremony of the Public School, Karachi Cantt, (popularly known as the Cantt Public School), he observed that some fellow countrymen had done extremely well individually but when it came to collective progress, the indicators placed Pakistan at the 137th position in a list of 175 countries.

Mr Jabbar, who is one of the first batch (1958) students of the school, said that a follow-up function would be held on Dec 21 when a plaque would be put up in the institution's playground and a time capsule with a brief history of the school would be buried at the place where once used to be the dome of the building. Fifty saplings would also be planted, he added.

Zafar Khan, another student from the 1958 batch, said that the old students were making efforts to establish a Rs5 million “Publican Alumni Trust Fund” out of which scholarships would be awarded to outstanding, as well as needy, students of the institution. Many former students announced their contribution to the fund during the function.

Harris Khalique, also an old student of the school, recited his poem that he had written when the dome of the school and other buildings had to make way for apartments meant for some army personnel.

Khwaja Fareed, Nighat Mir and several other old students also shared their memories of their school days at the ceremony.