Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday announced Pakistan’s first-ever National Youth Employment Policy, asserting it will create greater employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people.
Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad marking International Youth Day, he said the policy includes a 35% quota for women in the labor force, along with a 10% annual quota for young startups, ensuring inclusivity and innovation in the workforce. “Today is an era of A.I., I.T. and technology driven. If the latest knowledge in these fields is not incorporated in their daily life, they cannot move ahead and compete with the developed nations,” he stressed.
The prime minister affirmed that the government would commit all available resources to provide such opportunities to the youth to excel in different fields, adding it would also assist them in getting quality education at world renowned institutions. He noted the government had sent 1,000 students to China in 2025 to acquire knowledge in agricultural technology. This year, he said, high-achieving matriculation and intermediate students would be selected for education and training in I.T. and A.I. in China.
During his address, Sharif emphasized the importance of equal educational opportunities for all, particularly talented and deserving students, in line with the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He said if such opportunities could not be provided, the sacrifices made during the creation of Pakistan would remain unfulfilled and the dream of achieving a welfare state remain out of reach.
Underlining the need to end disparity in quality education between the elite and the poor, he referred to the Danish schools he introduced in Punjab during his tenure as chief minister, vowing to continue expanding the network nationwide. “Pakistan was created as country where equal opportunities in education, health and progress in different fields of life would be readily available on the basis of hard work,” he said, noting that unless this equality was maintained among all citizens, their real destination would remain far off.
“This [Danish] initiative is not a favor to the children; it is their right,” he said. He warned the failure to provide young people with relevant modern education would be an “unforgivable” failure on the part of the government.
The prime minister reiterated that all national resources would be utilized to provide facilities to the youth under the vision of Quaid-e-Azam. He also announced that a Danish University would be established in Islamabad, with its academic session starting next year, to provide tech-focused education to all deserving and talented students.
Sharif said the government had so far distributed around 700,000 laptops among meritorious students, while another 250,000 laptops would be given to high achievers this year. The laptop scheme, he said, had enabled young people to enter the “digital era” and earn livelihoods using technology.
“The future is not something you wait for, the future is something you build, now go and build it,” he said, referring to a famous quote to encourage the youth in attendance.