Illiteracy, ignorance major hurdles in progress: Firdous

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that illiteracy and ignorance were two major hurdles in the development and progress of the country, says a press release received here on Wednesday. Addressing a function organised in connection with Foundation Day of Anjuman Faizul Islam, Faizabad, Rawalpindi, she said that promotion of education was vital to defeat the forces of darkness.
The Minister said that institutions like Anjuman Faizul Islam were projecting the true image of country, and their efforts are worth appreciating. She said that Anjuman Faizul Islam was set up on the directions of the Quaid-i-Azam, and it has been working in accordance with the vision of the Founder of the Nation, adding that the institution was a role model for educational institutions, as it has been playing a key role in the spread of the ideology of Pakistan.
She said that Allama Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam had stressed the importance of education and no society could be transformed without promoting education. She said, "Today wars are not fought on battlefields, but on the economic front, and only those nations survive, which have good economic indicators."
She said that a nation, whose half population was sitting in home, cannot make rapid economic progress and development, stressing the need for empowerment of women, as it was imperative for the nation's progress. Referring to the leading role of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, in the Pakistan Movement, she said even women had played an active role in freedom struggle.
She also emphasised the role of youth in the nation-building process. The Minister said that she was a more social worker than a politician and was always ready to co-operate with Anjuman Faizul Islam in its social welfare projects. She said that she believed that politicians' focus should not be just coming to power, but changing the system, and without promotion of education, nobody can change the system. Earlier, President Anjuman Faizul Islam Mian Siddique Akbar in his Welcome Address said that Anjuman's foundation was laid in 1943 on Quaid-e-Azam's direction for provision of shelter to 30 orphan children from Bengal. He briefed the audience about the Anjuman and also shed light on its objectives and achievements.-PR