• Govt to reserve 35pc quota for women under first National Youth Employment Policy
• Premier calls for bridging ‘education gap’ between privileged and under-privileged segments
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday formally launched the First National Youth Employment Policy, aimed at creating job opportunities for young people, while lamenting that Pakistan was still “far from” becoming a social welfare state.
Under the policy, the government will reserve a 35 per cent quota for women in the labour force, while 10pc of the annual quota will be allocated to startups to encourage youth entrepreneurship and innovation.
The prime minister also inaugurated the Power Sector Innovation Programme and Skills Ambassador Programme at a ceremony marking International Youth Day in Islamabad.
He stressed the importance of providing equal educational opportunities to all, particularly talented and deserving students, in line with the vision of the Quaid-i-Azam.
“Without such opportunities, the sacrifices made during the creation of Pakistan would remain unfulfilled,” he said.
The prime minister said the world was now in an era of artificial intelligence, information technology and technology-driven development, adding that Pakistan could not compete with developed nations unless young people were equipped with the latest knowledge and skills.
The ceremony was attended by ministers, parliamentarians, diplomats, teachers and students.
PM Shehbaz highlighted the disparity in access to quality education between wealthy and poor families, saying the gap had to be eliminated.
“How unfortunate is it that, on the one hand, there is a Pakistan for the children of the elite, who not only receive the best education in Pakistan but also attend the best international institutions in the UK and North America?
“Contrastingly, there is another Pakistan where millions of parents’ children, who desperately want an education, are not provided even basic educational opportunities.”
PM Shehbaz said the government had allocated substantial funds for youth empowerment in the current fiscal budget.
He said 1,000 high-achieving students would be sent to China this year for agricultural education and training, while additional merit-based batches would be sent to China to study AI and IT.
He also announced the establishment of Daanish University in Islamabad, a technology-focused institution that would begin its academic session next year.
Education at the university, he said, would be free for deserving students and admissions would be based on merit.
The prime minister said 700,000 laptops had so far been distributed among students on merit, while 250,000 high-achieving students would receive Chromebooks this year.
“The future is not something you wait for, the future is something you build, now go and build it,” he told the youth.
Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2026