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PM Shehbaz Sharif will launch a one million youth initiative on November 9 to address education, health and environmental challenges.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to launch a nationwide initiative on November 9 to mobilise one million young Pakistanis as social mobilisers, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday.
The programme will place young people in their respective communities to promote education, health awareness, environmental protection and positive behavioural change. The initiative is being developed by the Ministry of Planning as part of the government’s broader development agenda.
Addressing the concluding ceremony of the Overseas Summer Scholar Internship and Young Parliamentary Development Council Residential Fellowship, Iqbal said the programme would connect national priorities with communities at the grassroots level.
Pakistan faces major human development challenges, including nearly 25 million out of school children, low literacy and widespread childhood malnutrition. Around 40% of children under five are affected by stunting, according to development and humanitarian agencies such as UNICEF and World Food Programme.
The youth mobilisers will support efforts to bring children into schools, encourage universal primary enrolment and raise awareness about health and nutrition. They will also promote healthier lifestyles, discourage drug and tobacco use, and participate in large scale plantation and environmental campaigns.
Iqbal said the initiative would harness Pakistan’s young population as ambassadors of social change. Nearly 60% of the country’s population is young, making youth participation central to the government’s efforts to improve social indicators.
“The real key to our progress lies in the hands of our youth,” Iqbal said, according to a Planning Ministry statement.
The minister said the programme was intended to remain above political divisions and promote a shared national identity among young Pakistanis. “We may belong to different languages, cultures, ethnicities and tribes, but our foremost identity is Pakistani,” he said.
He also linked the initiative to Pakistan’s long-term economic ambitions, saying the country aims to become a one trillion dollar economy by 2035. However, he stressed that economic expansion would not be sustainable without progress in education, health and human capital.
Referring to past infrastructure and energy gains, Iqbal said more than 11,000 megawatts had been added to Pakistan’s power generation capacity between 2013 and 2017, while the China Pakistan Economic Corridor brought around $25 billion in investment.
He urged young Pakistanis to convert national resilience into development, describing the next phase as a “Marka-e-Taraqqi” the battle for progress. Details regarding recruitment, training, funding and performance measurement for the one million member initiative have not yet been announced.
