Imran ‘ashamed’, ‘pained’ by assault on TikTokers

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that he was “ashamed” and “pained” when he saw the assault the female TikToker, referring to the Independence Day incident.

“The Minar-e-Pakistan incident, when I saw it, I was ashamed, it pained me to see it. No one could have imagined such an incident taking place [in Pakistan] when I was growing up,” PM Imran Khan said, during an event in Lahore.

This was the first time the premier had made any public remarks on the matter since the incident took place. On the occasion, he stated that this sort of harassment was not part of the culture of Pakistan.

The premier said he has travelled across the world, and while he was growing up, he had observed that Pakistanis respected women much more than the Western world.

“The downfall that we are witnessing is because our children are not being educated in the right manner. This is not a part of our culture and neither of our religion,” he said, referring to the behaviour that was displayed by the mob, at the Greater Iqbal Park in Lahore on August 14.

The prime minister said “sex crimes” in Pakistan were on the rise, and blamed it on the negative side of the use of mobile phones. “In human history, we never witnessed the kind of exposure to things that children have nowadays,” he said.

He noted that to curb such incidents, “there is only one way”. “Children must be taught about the life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him),” he said, adding that he was the “greatest human being, the likes of which will never again be seen”.

The prime minister said people read about successful people to learn of the secrets of their success — and no one in history is as successful as Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). “Which is why we have been told in the Holy Quran to learn from his life.”

“[The children must be taught] how he brought about a historic revolution. What his qualities were. How he was honest and trustworthy — and how no person has become a great leader without these qualities,” the prime minister said.

The premier said Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and former president of the South African Republic Nelson Mandela were regarded as honest and trustworthy even by their rivals.

“So these qualities, which made him so great, should be taught to our children in schools.

“And so alongside being taught about the latest technology — what we have envisioned for grades 8, 9 and 10 — this also has to be enforced. Both these things have to be enforced in the school curriculum,” the prime minister said.

The prime minister lauded Punjab Minister for Education Murad Ras for his “passion” for the field of education and for starting the implementation of the Single National Curriculum in the province.

He said passion is something that trumps talent in many areas.

“And when we see passion in a chief minister or [other minister], we back the ministry. Because we can see the person is working wholeheartedly.”

He hoped that in the next two years, Ras will be able to fully implement the new curriculum and “lift the standards of government schools”.

PM Imran Khan noted that private schools “were doing an excellent job”, but a family only sends their children there if they have money.

“In Pakistan, our real talent is mostly found in government schools,” he added.

Referring to the English medium education system as the remnants of British classism, he recalled that when he graduated from Aitchison College and went to England for further studies, he felt like “I was made an English public-school boy, not a Pakistani. I was distanced from my culture and my religion through that educational system.”

The premier said after independence from the British, Pakistan should have turned its focus on correcting the education system and developing a system to “create the nation”.

Instead, three different education systems were formed: madressahs, Urdu-medium schools and English-medium schools for a select class, he added.

“The English medium [system] evolved in such a way that there was less emphasis on education and more emphasis on creating desi vilayati (local foreigners). The attitudes and mental slavery of another culture were absorbed.”

He also lashed out at his predecessors for not thinking about the future generations and damaging the country’s progress with “short-term planning”.

“Even the forests that the British left behind have been destroyed.”

Speaking on the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project, he stated that in addition to its climate benefits, was expected to generate $40 billion in annual revenues.

“The project will not only prove beneficial for Lahore but for the entire country in addressing the environmental and financial problems,” he said, addressing the launch of Pakistan’s first-ever “smart forest” near Sheikhupura under the scheme.

The prime minister said the project would stop the flow of sewage water seep into River Ravi which ultimately flowed up to the River Indus passing through Sindh.

Under the Ravi project, about 10 million trees would be planted beside the construction of three barrages at the river. Filtration plants will ensure the provision of clean water to the public, he said.

Imran asked Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to remain undeterred amidst challenges and work towards the timely completion of the project.

He termed water scarcity, deforestation and glacier melting the biggest challenge for Pakistan — a country among the ten most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The prime minister said massive forestation was vital to save the country for the coming generations. “If we want to hand over a green and clean Pakistan to our next generation, the plantation is the foremost solution,” he said.

The prime minister regretted deforestation in the country over time, terming it disastrous in terms of climate change. He recalled that Lahore, once called City of Gardens, had turned into a polluted metropolis with pollutants touching hazardous levels.

“Therefore, the Ravi project is not only important for Lahore but for the entire country,” he stressed.

The prime minister, who earlier inaugurated the smart forest, said the growth of every plant would be monitored in collaboration with Huawei, the Chinese tech giant.

He said sensors would keep a vigil on the ruthless cutting of trees and expressed confidence that the project would be replicated in other parts of the country.

He recalled that in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, one billion trees had been planted and highlighted the ongoing nationwide campaign of planting ten billion trees to make the country green.

Earlier, the prime minister planted a sapling in the forest, which is the first of its kind being equipped with technology sensors and surveillance systems. Buzdar and senior officials of the Punjab government were present on the occasion.

The Rakh Jhok Forest in Sheikhupura is a project of Ravi Urban Development Authority covering 24,000 kanals of land. Huawei is the technology partner in the project.

With additional input from APP