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LAHORE, Jan 08 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has inaugurated Honhaar Scholarship program and distributed cheques among qualified students of the University of Sargodha (UoS), on Wednesday.
According to a handout issued here, she, addressing the Honhaar Scholarship ceremony at the UoS, stated that the Honhaar Scholarship was the first and largest scholarship program in the history of Pakistan. She directed to undertake steps so as to provide scholarships to second and third year students as well. She said, “I am very happy to see the talented sons and daughters of Sargodha University. The guard of honor is a recognition of their ability and hard work. I get very emotional when the children receive guard of honor. I salute such students who continue to work despite lack of resources. I congratulate the students, parents and teachers who received scholarships. I understand financial difficulties of the parents who teach their children.”
She added, “Do not express gratitude to me for getting a Honhaar Scholarship, it is your right and the fruit of your hard work. Students should take the Honhaar Scholarship as their right and congratulate their parents on my behalf as well. I thank Provincial Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat and Secretary Higher Education Dr. Fakhar Naveed for making the Honhaar Scholarship program a success.”
She stated that all children across Punjab are receiving scholarships without discrimination. “I have increased the Honhaar Scholarship from 30,000 to 50,000. The people’s money is a trust, and it should be spent on them,” she said.
The CM mentioned that the Honhaar Scholarships supported parents, with children from 68 disciplines and 12 top-ranking private universities benefiting from it. She urged students to focus on fields like artificial intelligence, robotics, and environmental studies, which promised immediate employment.
She shared that she had devoted January to visiting schools to understand the needs of the children. She added that laptops had arrived and would be distributed soon, and that they were also working on a project to provide 100,000 free bikes to students the following year. She clarified that she was not there as a Chief Minister, but as a mother, emphasizing that the country belonged to everyone and they were all responsible for its honor.
The CM emphasized that the youth must pledge to stand by their country, no matter the circumstances. She stated that those who incited violence and destruction were not friends and advised against blindly following anyone without investigating first. She urged the youth not to let anyone exploit their passions for political gain and to respect their parents and their country. She advised children never to respond to calls for destruction and stressed that respect for parents and the homeland should always come first.
The CM mentioned that in the past ten months, no appointments had been made based on recommendations and emphasized that the people’s trust in leadership should never be betrayed. She promised that no one’s future would be spoiled for political gain and called for a focus on making the country a beacon of progress and opportunity for every child, regardless of their background.
Earlier, the CM distributed cheques under Honahar Scholarship Program among 1588 students at the University of Sargodha. She distributed cheques worth Rs 70 million among the students of universities and medical colleges of Sargodha, Bhakkar and Mianwali.