Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Sunday, emphasized the critical need to provide equal opportunities in the education and health sectors to fulfill the true vision of Pakistan’s founder, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of Daanish School Kuri, the prime minister reflected on the sacrifices made during the 1947 migration, noting that millions left everything behind with the hope of building a nation grounded in justice, fair play, and merit.
He asserted that Pakistan cannot reach its true destination without ensuring accessible, high-quality opportunities for all citizens across every field, stressing that every child from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Gilgit-Baltistan must be equipped with a quality education.
And after eighty years down the lane, he said they must take a pause and have honest self introspection what they had dreamt of in 1947. “This might be some other Pakistan, but not Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan?” he remarked while referring to two different sets of education system in the country.
“That what we and our forefathers had dreamt of in 1947, and where we stand today, that the richest of this country earned their assets through hard work or otherwise, have the opportunity to send their sons and daughters to the best schools in Pakistan, not only here, to North of America and South of France. And imagine the plight of likes of this daughter from Bahawalpur and this daughter from KP, and this boy in front of you who also became a doctor,” he added.
The prime minister emphasized that every child-from Karachi to Peshawar, regardless of socioeconomic background-deserves equal access to quality education.
Contrasting the opportunities available to the elite, who can easily afford prestigious domestic or international institutions, the prime minister highlighted the plight of exceptionally bright children from impoverished families across Pakistan, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
He noted that these children could never dream of attending elite institutions like Aitchison College, let alone receiving a decent standard of education.
To bridge this massive gap, the prime minister shared that he first established the Daanish Schools network back in 2010, driven by the mission to uplift underprivileged youth and provide them with world-class educational opportunities.
The prime minister said that Punjab Endowment Fund now transformed into Pakistan Endowment Fund and it was now a realization of Quaid e Azam’s vision that all children from the length and breadth of country, should get equal opportunities in education and health
The event was attended by ministers, parliamentarians, diplomats, relevant authorities, teachers and students.
The prime minister cited the example of a young daughter from KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who is a special child, but she never lost hope and struggled through the muddy waves of life beside a girl from backward area of Punjab who graduated from Daanish School and became a doctor. She struggled through the muddy waves of life with unwavering commitment, he added. This was the vision which forced me and my team back in 2010 to establish this family called Dhani Schools, he opined.
He stressed that through Daanish Schoool system they had the opportunity to give the gift of better schools, just like those in the West. The prime minister said that he was standing before them not as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, but truly speaking, as a true servant of the people of Pakistan. He said that what all they had witnessed today was not only heart touching but it was also awe inspiring.
He expressed the hope that the graduated students from the Daanish Schools would not only transform their own lives but through their ingenuity, hard work and untiring efforts transform the landscape of Pakistan into one of the most going countries in the community of nations.
Earlier, the prime minister also visited different sections of the school and interacted with students and staff members.
Minister for Federal Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, in his remarks, termed it a historic day in the education sector reflecting a new vision for imparting education to new generations of the country.
He said the journey of Daanish would pave a huge way for country’s progress and prosperity. Chairman Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, in his remarks appreciated the prime minister for his public services during his tenure as chief minister Punjab.