PM Shehbaz Sharif inaugurates Laptop Scheme 2023

Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday launched the Laptop Scheme 2023 in a ceremony. The ceremony was attended by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Interior Attaullah Tarrar, and Chairman of Higher Education (HEC) Dr Mukhtar Ahmed were also present on the occasion.

Addressing the launching ceremony of the laptop program here, the prime minister said apart from the 100,000 laptops approved for the previous financial year, he also got another 100,000 laptops approved for the current fiscal year.

He said the government was committed to empowering the youth of the country as empowering them was key to ensuring the development and prosperity of Pakistan. He said the youth of the country were capable enough to transform the country’s fate as with their hard work and dedication, they could help Pakistan develop at a faster pace leaving its neighboring country far behind in terms of economic development and prosperity.

The PM added that this ceremony reminded him of the days when as Chief Minister Punjab he distributed hundreds of thousands of laptops among the students on merit. He said those laptops helped the students a lot during Covid pandemic days when they took their classes online while sitting at home and also earned their bread and butter by working as freelancers.

He informed that he as CM Punjab also provided scholarships to the talented youth under Punjab Education Endowment Fund (PEEF), and the beneficiary of these programs was now serving the country in various areas including health, IT and Engineering.

The prime minister maintained that this had been his mission to provide every youth with a laptop machine to enable them to successfully move forward in their respective areas. He said the laptop distribution process would totally be on merit and no influence will be accepted in this regard.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima Khawaja said Muslim League (N) in its tenure, had empowered the youth. She said since 2011, one million laptops had been distributed among talented students while over Rs 100 billion in loans had also been provided to the youth to empower them. She said the prime minister would distribute 100,000 laptops among the students in the days to come.

Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Interior Attaullah Tarrar, and Chairman of Higher Education Dr Mukhtar Ahmed were also present on the occasion.

Related: 652,155 students apply for PM’s Youth Laptop Scheme 2022-23