Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Wednesday said that a university for overseas Pakistanis would be set up in Islamabad in 2007. Speaking in a PTV programme, he said the charter for this university has already been approved.
He said the ministry had fixed very ambitious targets for the welfare of working class and overseas Pakistanis, which would hopefully be achieved. The Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) is making efforts to set up higher educational institutions in all the provinces he said adding a project worth Rs 45 million has recently been announced by President General Pervez Musharraf to set up a OPF girls college in Quetta.
He said a female hostel would also be set up in Quetta for common use of the student of OPF girls college and the Women University. First time in history of country the government has announced to sponsor the expenditure of higher education in any field for a brilliant child of a worker, the minister said.
Replying to a question, he said the children of overseas Pakistanis are given preference for admission in OPF institutions adding they are also given concession in fees. There is no complaint that a child of an overseas Pakistani was deprived of admission in any institution, he said.
To another question, he said the government particularly President General Pervez Musharraf has strong resolve to uplift the living conditions of Baloch people who remained neglected during the past six decades.
Unprecedented development process has been initiated in the province in every sector and days are not far when people of Balochistan would be at par with other provinces. He said that there are only 55,000 Balochs abroad, out of 7.5 million overseas Pakistanis adding efforts are now being made to remove the disparity.
A manpower demand has been received from Korea under which recruitment is being made from Balochistan province, he informed.