AKDN to continue support for education and health: Aga Khan
LAHORE: Prince Karim Aga Khan said on Tuesday that the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) would continue to support the development of health and education as well as other sectors in Pakistan.
“We believe that these development steps would have quite an impact on the people’s lives,” he said at a briefing by Punjab Chief Secretary Salman Siddique at Governor’s House on Tuesday.
Khan said that Pakistan finally had the right atmosphere for organisations trying to develop the country. He said that problems of the underdeveloped countries and their people should be solved immediately. He stressed the need for a readiness to accept others, to learn from them, and to see difference as an opportunity rather than a threat.
He said that AKDN had set up an institute in London for postgraduate courses in Islamic civilisation. He said that AKDN was planning to set up a network of schools in 14 to 16 Asian and African countries, which would provide international standard education. These schools would ultimately be linked to the university system, he said.
Responding to the areas identified by the Punjab chief secretary for assistance from AKDN, he suggested that there should be continuous interaction between the officials of the network and the Punjab government, so that plans for cooperation in education, health and urban development could be made. Khan said that the management of education and health was important, for which AKDN would set up an undergraduate and a postgraduate management college in Pakistan.
Governor Khalid Maqbool welcomed Prince Karim Aga Khan and said that AKDN had been playing an important role in the promotion of health and education in Pakistan besides working for the welfare of disadvantaged groups of society.
He said that the Punjab government had developed a framework for development in various sectors and was positive about foreign investment.
Punjab Chief Secretary Salman Siddique briefed Khan on the profile of Punjab with specific focus on economic development and future projects. Planning and Development Chairman Suleman Ghani, Punjab Planning and Development Secretary Sohail Ahmad and AKDN officials were also present on the occasion. app
Ismailimail 