The entire Pakistani nation is united against terrorism :Rana Mashud Ahmad Khan

Lahore: Punjab Minister for Sports and Education Rana Mashud Ahmad Khan has said that the entire Pakistani nation is united against terrorism. Pakistan youth are one of the most talented young generations of the world. The Minister expressed these views while addressing the 6^th National Youth Peace Festival as chief guest at Ali Institute of Education, Ferozepur Road on Tuesday. The festival was organized under the auspices of Chanan Development Organization.

US Consul General Lahore Mr Zachary V. Harkenrider, MNA Shaista Pervaiz Malik, MPA Waqas Mokal, Director Youth Affairs Balochistan Afzal Muhammad Solehri, Director Youth Affairs KPK M Arshad and Chairman Chanan Development Organization Muhammad Shahzad Khan were also present on this occasion.

Punjab Minister for Sports and Education Rana Mashhood, who attended the festival on behalf of Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, said Pakistani youth have made the entire nation proud on several occasions by achieving international recognition in the field of education and sports. He emphasized the need for utilizing talents of youth in order to make the country self-reliant in all fields. He said the talent of our youth is in no way less than that of other countries and we are providing them an appropriate platform to show their potential.

Rana Mashud said: “Pakistan is facing challenges and the main threat to our country is terrorism which we have to fight to ensure peace and development in our country. There are no good and bad Taliban. We are fighting against every kind of terrorism,” he maintained. He said our country has great potential in various fields and added “We can do wonders for our country by utilizing the potential of the youth properly. Pakistan youth will take our country to new heights.” Highlighting the potential of Pakistan youth, Mashhood said our female students from Hasilpur and DG Khan took top positions in international educational competition held in Los Angeles and London in recent past.

The Minister further said that Pakistan people offered great sacrifices for gaining independence in 1947. “Our youth, under the dynamic leadership of Quad-e-Azam, also played key role on that testing time”. US Consul General Lahore Mr Zachary V. Harkenrider, in his address, said Pakistan has bright future and has a respectable status among the democratic nations in the world. “US is offering every possible cooperation to Pakistan in various fields especially education”, he added.

Mr Zachary said that America has offered 2500 scholarships to Pakistan students. “We will continue to encourage intelligent students in Pakistan in future as well,” he stressed.

He appreciated Pakistan efforts for the eradication of terrorism saying that Pakistan is passing through testing time. MNA Shaista Pervaiz Malik, MPA Waqas Mokal, Director Youth Affairs Balochistan Afzal Muhammad Solehri, Director Youth Affairs KPK M Arshad and Chairman Chanan Development Organization Muhammad Shahzad Khan also addressed the large gathering on this occasion.