ISLAMABAD: Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Saturday invited leading Turkish universities to expand their footprint in Pakistan’s most populous province while addressing a session focused on education at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2025.
The annual forum, now in its fourth edition, is hosted under the patronage of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and aims to foster dialogue and cooperation on pressing global issues. This year’s theme, “Reclaiming Diplomacy in a Fragmented World,” has drawn world leaders, diplomats and civil society actors to discuss solutions to global challenges, including education, conflict and development.
Before her address, Sharif met with Erdoğan and First Lady Emine Erdoğan. The Turkish president warmly welcomed and thanked her for participating in the forum.
“I take this opportunity to invite the top universities of Türkiye to expand their presence in Punjab, to create more centers of eminence, more centers of excellence where our youth can learn, grow and lead,” she said while addressing the gathering.
“Let us ensure that our collaboration and exchange programs become the foundation for a brighter, human-centric future, a future that both Pakistanis and Turkish generations will be proud to inherit,” she added.
The Punjab chief minister emphasized her provincial government’s commitment to transforming education landscape.
She outlined several reform initiatives, including the upgradation of more than 4,000 primary schools into elementary schools to combat generational dropouts, particularly in rural areas where children often leave school after Class 5 due to the absence of nearby middle schools.
“This upgradation is not a token gesture. It is a systemic intervention,” she said, adding that digital learning rooms were also being established in over 6,000 schools across the province to integrate technology with pedagogy.
Sharif also spoke of reviving non-functional schools and turning them into “sanctuaries of learning,” while highlighting a new nutrition program launched in underserved districts to address malnutrition among schoolchildren, especially girls.
“My government’s foremost commitment is to women and children, to education and opportunity, and to dignity and justice,” she said. “And it is in these arenas that I seek to construct a unique model of governance that is both ethical and effective.”
The chief minister further announced the creation of Pakistan’s first Artificial Intelligence University in Lahore and the development of the Nawaz Sharif Internet City, a hub intended to foster innovation and IT-based learning that is named after her father.
“We are recruiting about 30,000 new school teachers entirely on merit,” she informed, noting that the province had also established a dedicated institution for teacher training and curriculum development aligned with 21st-century learning goals.
Sharif positioned herself during the speech not only as a political leader but also as “an ambassador of education,” vowing to ensure that “no child is left behind due to poverty, geography, gender or social restrictions.”
Punjab CM invites Turkish universities to expand footprint in Pakistan at Antalya Diplomacy Forum
https://arab.news/nw5e2
Punjab CM invites Turkish universities to expand footprint in Pakistan at Antalya Diplomacy Forum
- Maryam Nawaz Sharif meets President Erdoğan and First Lady before addressing a session on education
- She says the provincial administration is committed to education and opportunities for women and children
Pakistan opposition rallies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to demand release of Imran Khan
- PTI-led gathering calls the former PM a national hero and demands the release of all political prisoners
- Government says the opposition failed to draw a large crowd and accuses PTI of damaging its own politics
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party demanded the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan at a rally in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, describing him as a national hero who continues to command public support.
The gathering came days after a rare and strongly worded briefing by the military’s media chief, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, who dismissed Khan as “narcissistic” and “mentally ill” on Friday while responding to the former premier’s allegations that Pakistan’s chief of defense forces was responsible for undermining the constitution and rule of law.
He said that Khan was promoting an anti-state narrative which had become a national security threat.
The participants of the rally called for “civilian supremacy” and said elected representatives should be treated with respect.
“We, the people of Pakistan, regard Imran Khan as a national hero and the country’s genuinely elected prime minister, chosen by the public in the February 8, 2024 vote,” said a resolution presented at the rally in Peshawar. “We categorically reject and strongly condemn the notion that he or his colleagues pose any kind of threat to national security.”
“We demand immediate justice for Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi and all political prisoners, and call for their prompt release,” it added, referring to Khan’s wife who is also in prison. “No restrictions should be placed on Imran Khan’s meetings with his family, lawyers or political associates.”
Addressing the gathering, Sohail Afridi, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, denied his administration was not serious about security issues amid increased militant activity. However, he maintained the people of his province had endured the worst of Pakistan’s conflict with militancy and urged a rethinking of long-running security policies.
The resolution asked the federal government to restore bilateral trade and diplomatic channels with Afghanistan, saying improved cross-border ties were essential for the economic stability of the region.
The trade between the two neighbors has suffered as Pakistan accuses the Taliban administration in Kabul of sheltering and facilitating armed groups that it says launch cross-border attacks to target its civilians and security forces. Afghan officials deny the claim.
The two countries have also had deadly border clashes in recent months that have killed dozens of people on both sides.
Some participants of the rally emphasized the restoration of democratic freedoms, judicial independence and space for political reconciliation, calling them necessary to stabilize the country after years of political confrontation.
Reacting to the opposition rally, Information Minister Attaullah Tarrar said the PTI and its allies could not gather enough people.
“In trying to build an anti-army narrative, they have ruined their own politics,” he said, adding that the rally’s reaction to the military’s media chief’s statement reflected “how deeply it had stung.”
“There was neither any argument nor any real response,” he added, referring to what was said by the participants of the rally.
