Militant mindset biggest global enemy: Zardari
10 November, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Terming the militant mindset biggest collective enemy of the world, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday the government was according high priority to promotion of education in the country, especially in militancy-hit areas, as a long-term tool to fight this mindset. The president was talking to Special Envoy of United Nations Secretary General on Global Education and former prime minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown. He reiterated the commitment of the government to meet the goal of Global Initiative on Education and sought enhanced support and cooperation of the UN and international community in education sector and achieving Accelerated Millennium Development Goals (AMDGs). Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said that matters related to promotion of education in Pakistan, UN global initiative to promote education, BISP's Waseela-e-Taleem initiative, UK's assistance to the country in the education sector and the ways and means to promote education sector came under discussion during the meeting. Babar said the president, while highlighting importance of education, said that the need for education was never as great as it was today as it holds the key to counter-extremism and militancy besides ensuring socio-economic uplift of the people by bringing them out from the vicious circle of poverty. Gordon Brown briefed the president about the objectives of UN initiative "Education First" that aims at helping the member countries in promoting education and said that his mission in Pakistan was aimed at ensuring greater enrollment, provision of quality education, training of the teachers and promotion of education technology in Pakistan. President Zardari launched the "Waseela-e-Taleem" initiative of the Benazir Income Support Programme under which over three million children of the poor families of the country would be provided financial assistance for enrolling them in primary schools in the next four years. Addressing a special launch ceremony at the Presidency, the president said the Waseela-e-Taleem programme laid solid foundation for brighter future of the poor children of the country. Appreciating the BISP, Zardari said it was the flagship programme of the present government for poverty alleviation and women empowerment and expressed satisfaction that it was developing into a comprehensive social safety net. End.
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