Maryam Nawaz announces AI university in Lahore, urges global focus on girls' education
Listen to article
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has announced the establishment of Pakistan's first Artificial Intelligence (AI) University in Lahore, stating that the initiative is set to transform the future of education in the country.
Speaking at the Fourth Edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2025 in Turkey, Maryam Nawaz emphasized the global need for a renewed commitment to girls' education.
She said the AI-focused educational initiatives in Punjab represent a significant step forward in reshaping traditional learning models to meet the demands of the 21st century.
'The promotion of AI-based education is changing the landscape of learning. With the establishment of Pakistan's first AI university in Lahore, we are preparing our youth for a smarter, technology-driven future,' she stated.
Maryam Nawaz paid tribute to Turkish First Lady Emine Erdoğan and appreciated the efforts of the Maarif Foundation for organizing the forum at a critical global juncture. She stressed that Pakistan and Turkey, though two nations, share a unified spirit and vision, bringing with her a message of solidarity and love from the people of Punjab.
Since assuming office in March 2024, the Chief Minister said she has been working to build upon the strong foundations laid by former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif.
'We began a new era of development with a renewed spirit — focusing on economic progress, education, and health infrastructure,' she noted.
She also stated key educational reforms in Punjab:
Over 4,000 primary schools upgraded
Launch of digital learning rooms in 6,000 schools using touchscreens instead of traditional chalkboards
Reopening of previously closed schools
Introduction of 50,000 merit-based scholarships for talented students
Daily milk program in schools to combat malnutrition
Recruitment of 30,000 new teachers on merit
Professional development programs for teachers aligned with modern educational needs
Launch of AI-based learning platforms for students
Maryam Nawaz also introduced the concept of 'Nawaz Sharif Internet City', calling it the new face of Digital Pakistan.
'Education is not just about curriculum—it is a healing force, a means to eliminate deprivation and build a better world,' she said.
In her address, the Chief Minister also drew global attention to humanitarian crises, particularly affecting children in conflict zones.
'Palestinian children lie buried under rubble. In Afghanistan, girls are denied education. In occupied Jammu and Kashmir, children suffer prejudice and violence. In Sudan, children must walk miles in search of food,' she lamented.
Maryam Nawaz concluded her speech with a passionate call for inclusive, just, and future-ready education, reaffirming her government's commitment to bringing every child, especially in rural areas, into the folds of modern learning.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Turkiye secures $10b fighter jet deal with Indonesia
Listen to article Ankara has agreed a deal to export 48 Turkish-made fighter jets to Indonesia, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday. Turkiye's defence sector, including the famous Bayraktar drones, accounts for a significant share of the country's export revenues. 'As part of the agreement signed with our friendly and brotherly country, Indonesia, 48 Kaan (fighter jets) will be produced in Turkiye and exported to Indonesia,' Erdogan wrote on X. The contract, valued at 10 billion dollars, includes the production and delivery of the Kaan fighter jets to Indonesia over a ten-year period, according to Turkish media. The deal also includes a technology transfer to Indonesia, Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber reported. Read more: Indonesia mulls buying China's J-10 jets 'Indonesia's local capabilities will also be utilised in the production of Kaan' jets, the Turkish head of state said on X, without providing further details. The fifth-generation fighter jet Kaan, produced by state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), made its first flight in February 2024. It was then equipped with the same type of engines as those of the F-16 fighter jets but Turkiye ultimately plans to equip Kaan jets with a locally produced engine. In 2024, Turkiye's defence industry export revenues reached $7.1 billion, an increase of $1.6 billion compared with 2023.
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
US slams UN conference on Israel-Palestinian issue, warns of consequences
PARIS: U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is discouraging governments around the world from attending a U.N. conference next week on a possible two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a U.S. cable seen by Reuters. The diplomatic demarche, sent on Tuesday, says countries that take 'anti-Israel actions' following the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to U.S. foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences from Washington. The demarche, which was not previously reported, runs squarely against the diplomacy of two close allies France and Saudi Arabia, who are co-hosting the gathering next week in New York that aims to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel's security. 'We are urging governments not to participate in the conference, which we view as counterproductive to ongoing, life-saving efforts to end the war in Gaza and free hostages,' read the cable. President Emmanuel Macron has suggested France could recognise a Palestinian state in Israeli-occupied territories at the conference. French officials say they have been working to avoid a clash with the U.S., Israel's staunchest major ally. UN conference on two-state solution to Mideast conflict set for June 'The United States opposes any steps that would unilaterally recognise a conjectural Palestinian state, which adds significant legal and political obstacles to the eventual resolution of the conflict and could coerce Israel during a war, thereby supporting its enemies,' the cable read. The United States for decades backed a two-state solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians that would create a state for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel. Trump, in his first term, was relatively tepid in his approach to a two-state solution, a longtime pillar of U.S. Middle East policy. The Republican president has given little sign of where he stands on the issue in his second term. But on Tuesday, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, a long-time vocal supporter of Israel, said he did not think an independent Palestinian state remained a U.S. foreign policy goal. Gaza war 'Unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state would effectively render Oct. 7 Palestinian Independence Day,' the cable read, referring to when Palestinian Hamas carried out a cross-border attack from Gaza on Israel in 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Hamas' attack triggered Israel's air and ground war in Gaza in which almost 55,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of the 2.3 million population displaced and the enclave widely reduced to rubble. If Macron went ahead, France, home to Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities, would become the first Western heavyweight to recognise a Palestinian state. This could lend greater momentum to a movement hitherto dominated by smaller nations generally more critical of Israel. Macron's stance has shifted amid Israel's intensified Gaza offensive and escalating violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, and there is a growing sense of urgency in Paris to act now before the idea of a two-state solution vanishes forever. The U.S. cable said Washington had worked tirelessly with Egypt and Qatar to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, free the hostages and end the conflict. 'This conference undermines these delicate negotiations and emboldens Hamas at a time when the terrorist group has rejected proposals by the negotiators that Israel has accepted.' This week Britain and Canada, also G7 allies of the United States, were joined by other countries in placing sanctions on two Israeli far-right government ministers to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring the Gaza war to an end. 'The United States opposes the implied support of the conference for potential actions including boycotts and sanctions on Israel as well as other punitive measures,' the cable read. Israel has repeatedly criticised the conference, saying it rewards Hamas for the attack on Israel, and it has lobbied France against recognising a Palestinian state. 'Nothing surprises me anymore, but I don't see how many countries could step back on their participation,' said a European diplomat, who asked for anonymity due to the subject's sensitivity. 'This is bullying, and of a stupid type.' The U.S. State Department and the French Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Business Recorder
8 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Turkiye to export 48 fighter jets to Indonesia: Erdogan
ANKARA: Ankara has agreed a deal to export 48 Turkish-made fighter jets to Indonesia, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday. Turkiye's defence sector, including the famous Bayraktar drones, accounts for a significant share of the country's export revenues. 'As part of the agreement signed with our friendly and brotherly country, Indonesia, 48 Kaan (fighter jets) will be produced in Turkiye and exported to Indonesia,' Erdogan wrote on X. The contract, valued at 10 billion dollars, includes the production and delivery of the Kaan fighter jets to Indonesia over a ten-year period, according to Turkish media. Chinese defence stocks surge as Pakistan signals major arms deal: report The deal also includes a technology transfer to Indonesia, Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber reported. 'Indonesia's local capabilities will also be utilised in the production of Kaan' jets, the Turkish head of state said on X, without providing further details. The fifth-generation fighter jet Kaan, produced by state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), made its first flight in February 2024. It was then equipped with the same type of engines as those of the F-16 fighter jets but Turkiye ultimately plans to equip Kaan jets with a locally produced engine. In 2024, Turkiye's defence industry export revenues reached $7.1 billion, an increase of $1.6 billion compared with 2023.
