ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has called upon the Muslim youth and universities to follow the great legacy of Muslims history. He said in Islamic teachings and especially in the Holy book there is a great emphasis on education and exploration of the universe.
These views were expressed by him on Thursday while speaking after inaugurating the academic blocks in the male and female campuses of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI).
These blocks are part of PC-I “Expansion and Up-gradation of International Islamic University, Islamabad” worth Rs. 2.5 Billion. The PC-I addresses the need to strengthen and upgrade the University’s academic infrastructure and establishment/ up-gradation of Labs to meet the ever-growing student strength in almost all programs offered at under-graduate, graduate and postgraduate levels.
The new block at male campus will accommodate around 2000 students per shift of the civil engineering and Faculty of Social Sciences, while second block in the female campus will accommodate around 3000 students per shift of the Faculty of Management Sciences and Social Sciences. Under this PSDP project, in addition to these inaugurated blocks, there are four more under construction buildings including Shared Academic block, Library building, Shariah hostel, medical centre. There is also provision of lab equipment, furniture and transport. The Campus Management System and IT infrastructure provision is also part of the PC-I.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Ahsan Iqbal advised the youth to keep self-esteem high adding that the rhetoric of portraying Pakistani nation as corrupt must be discouraged as it has damaged the self-esteem of people of Pakistan. He said Pakistanis are not a corrupt nation, our leaders must portray positive image of the country.
He said the government, since previous tenure of 2013, under vision 2025 has established a network of universities across the country. He said under the vision, modern needs were addressed by establishing centres for AI, genetics, digital revolutionary reforms and projects of technology.
The federal minister for planning said that hatred, extremism and intolerance are major obstacles in the way of peace, national unity and sustainable economic development in country. He said that after escaping a terrorist attack I decided to save the youth from hatred and terrorism. He said that the virus of hatred in the human mind destroys intellect and its ability to think in a positive way.
Ahsan Iqbal said that the base of conflict and violence is prejudice and intolerance as it leads to extremism. The federal minister said that the success of any nation depends on the utilization of collective capacity. He further said that polarization is the biggest enemy of national unity. He said investment must be continuously provided with a favorable environment. He advised youth to promote peaceful co-existence and emphasized that the manners of disagreement need to be made common in the society. He hoped that this expansion in the infrastructure of university shall pave the way to promote higher education. He also hoped that university, having a distinctive place due to its vision, will keep pursuing the inculcation of Islamic thoughts in Muslim youth and application of meaningful research.
In his address, President IIUI, Dr. Hathal Hamoud Alotaibi said it is a historic day for the university as it has achieved another milestone by inaugurating two of the blocks as part of an expansion project. Praising the special cooperation provided by Ahsan Iqbal, he said the university is thankful for the continuous keen interest and consistent cooperation by Ahsan Iqbal. He said that university has been put on the track of infrastructural development and academic excellence. He added that university has outshined many educational institutions by maintaining a distinctive place in the international rankings. He informed that university has taken place in 51-100 in the subjects of theology, divinity and Islamic studies.
The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Syed Naveed Hussain Shah, Director, Monitoring & Evaluation HEC, all the Vice Presidents of university, Deans and other senior officials.
