Pak Army is Not Mercenary, Says Imran
ISLAMABAD: Giving an interview to the CNN, PTI chairman said that uprising in northern areas of the country could not be suppressed by drone attacks or military operation; rather it needs to win heart and mind of the people who are expressing resistance in the face of military operations.
He said that the PTI is the only party which has worth in the sight of the people of northern areas and after coming to power, it would bring the trouble situation on track for rule of law and consolidation of democratic values.
Throwing light on current socio-political aspects of the society, he said that rulers have nothing to do with the problems faced by the common man; rather their aim is to collect money in the name of so-called democracy.
He added that Pakistan Army should come out of US and NATO war as it is not a mercenary; rather it is an independent and civilized army which has its specific ideology.
Later, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has announced he will declare war on illiteracy in the country and will treat it as a national emergency when he assumes office.
Khan said that he intended to create a specialist cabinet of advisors and implement a ten-year multi-pronged plan to reach full literacy in Pakistan.
“Illiteracy is one of the main factors holding back the country’s development and is closely related to the ongoing levels of poverty and income inequality”, said Khan.
The statistics are somewhat daunting. Due to many years of underinvestment in education, some 42% of the adult population (15-64 years) lack basic literacy and 44% of young children (5-10 years) are not even attending primary school, thereby perpetuating the problem. If Pakistan is to reach its stated goal of full literacy by 2025, then a twin track approach is needed to expand primary education to universal access and to tackle the adult illiteracy problem with all available resources.
PTI has already committed to expanding the education budget to 5% of GDP, making another Rs 8,687 million available for investment in the necessary schools and trained teachers. However, the need in the primary education sector is for another 120,000 schools and 342,000 teachers, almost doubling the primary sector and leaving very little for an effective adult literacy campaign.
