“Says AJK has huge potential for hydropower projects”
Islamabad: (Parliament Times) President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan has said that today’s youth are masters of Pakistan’s destiny who will bring Pakistan on the map of developed countries.
The President made these remarks while addressing the Roots Flagship Millennium Campus’ Annual High Achiever Ceremony 2018 at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts organized to celebrate and honour the distinguished students of Roots Millennium Schools (RMS) who had achieved distinctions and scholarships to international universities.
President Masood Khan on the occasion congratulated and complimented the management, faculty, students and their parents on their outstanding achievements. He added that it was impressive to see that our students have accomplished such a remarkable result and secured positions in leading universities of the world.
He said that students of this institution have been provided holistic education with the emphasis on personality grooming, character development, confidence, adequate exposure to leadership and societal contributions.
Underscoring the importance of quality education, President Azad Kashmir said that it is pertinent to impart an education that focuses on the whole child including the social, emotional, mental, physical and cognitive development of each student, preparing the child for the challenges of life.
Talking to the students, President Masood Khan said that they owe their success to their parents and teachers. He urged them to fulfil their responsibility by contributing to the society and pursuing academic and professional excellence. He said that we should focus on making Pakistan socially, politically, diplomatically and economically stronger; enabling our country to stand amongst the developed nations of the world.
President Masood Khan while strongly condemning the recent gang rape and murder of eight-year-old Asifa Banu, informed his audience about the abysmal situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir. The President said that the Kashmiris in IOK are facing gross injustice at the hands of 700,000 Indian occupation forces who are killing, maiming, torturing, incarcerating and dishonouring the local population with impunity. He added that today as global citizens we need to raise our voices for the Kashmiris by creating awareness on the atrocities taking place in IOK.
The President said that we will continue to support the Kashmiri’s peaceful and unarmed struggle for their right to self-determination. He said that we strive for a just, peaceful and lasting resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and call for the immediate end to the human right violations and war crimes perpetrated in IOK. He told the students to express their solidarity with the Kashmiris and raise awareness over the issue by telling the stories of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters by using the #KashmirMatters on social media networks.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir said the President is on the verge of an economic and commercial revolution driven by multiple development projects focusing infrastructure, construction of roads, universal access to health, education, industry, tourism, energy production and enhancing agriculture capacity. “Azad Kashmir will contribute to the developing economic landscape of Pakistan, becoming an asset for the country”, he said.
The event was attended by H. E. Adil Al Arabi, Tunisian Ambassador to Pakistan; Dr. Junaid Zaidi, Rector COMSATS Institute of Information Technology; Julie Newlan, Pro-Vice Chancellor University of Hertfordshire; Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq, Chief Executive TMUC, faculty, students and their parents.
Meanwhile, a Chinese delegation led by Mr. Qiu Jiangwei, Vice President Chongqing Water Turbine Works (CWTW) Company, called on Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir here at the President Office in Islamabad.
Mr. Qiu informed the President that their company is already working on projects in various parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and further expressed his interest in expanding their investment portfolio in the hydropower production sector in Azad Kashmir. Specializing in supplying turbines for small and micro-dams, Mr Qiu said that they are ready to finance projects in AJK in view of the huge potential of hydropower production potential. He said that CWTW would also like to invest in upgradation, rehabilitation and maintenance of existing power projects in AJK.
The President on the occasion welcomed the delegation saying that Azad Kashmir and China share cordial working relations especially in the fields of hydropower production and infrastructure development. He said that Azad Kashmir has a huge potential for hydropower generation on its watercourses. The full potential, he said, was 8,800 MW, out of which nearly 2,400 MW would be available towards the end of the year after the full utilization of the capacity of the Neelum-Jhelum Project.
The President said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor has helped reshape the economic landscape of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. “Pakistan and China have planned to take initiatives for regional development and economic progress and CPEC will prove to be a huge stimulus in this regard. Azad Kashmir will remain an integral part of these economic megaprojects.”