ISLAMABAD
\nMinister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal, on Thursday made a clarion call for a national reawakening rooted in knowledge, innovation and technological prowess.
\nAddressing a policy dialogue titled \u201cScience, Technology, and Engineering for Development (STED)-2025: Innovate, Integrate and Implement\u201d here at the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS), he said Pakistan stood at a critical crossroads and asserted that the nation\u2019s future hinged not on the abundance of natural resources but on its capacity to generate, harness and apply knowledge.
\n\u201cWe are not here to tinker with the status quo. We are here to transform Pakistan into a techno-economy,\u201d he added. In a speech that wove together history, theology and geopolitical foresight, Ahsan Iqbal invoked the Islamic tradition of scholarship. Citing Quranic encouragement to explore the universe, he reminded the audience that Islamic Spain, centuries ago, was home to 70 public libraries that introduced Europe to scientific knowledge through Arabic translations.
\nAccording to UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the average R&D spending in Muslim-majority countries was only 0.3% of GDP compared to 2.5 to 4% in developed countries, he said regretting \u201c We went from being leaders of knowledge to consumers of technology, and this is a wake-up call.
\n\u201cThere was a time when the Muslim world led the world in thought,\u201d he said, reminding today the Muslim world represented 25 percent of the global population but contributed less than 2 percent to scientific advancement. He urged a national pivot toward realigning Pakistan\u2019s science, technology and engineering (STE) infrastructure with its development ambitions.
\n\u201cPakistan now must reclaim its intellectual heritage not by looking backwards with nostalgia, but by moving forward with urgency, vision, investment and action. In today\u2019s global race, nations are not competing over oil and gas, they are competing over talent, ideas, innovation and technology.\u201d
\nHe pointed to global models including South Korea and Singapore that rose to economic prominence through strategic investments in research, innovation and human capital. \u201cToday\u2019s global competition is not about oil and gas. It\u2019s about skills, technology, and the ability to innovate,\u201d he stressed.
\nHighlighting the centrality of science and engineering in Pakistan\u2019s path forward, the minister mentioned the PML-N government\u2019s initiative to establish of Daanish University, which he described as a \u201cgame changer\u201d in the country\u2019s pursuit of technological excellence. The minister also reiterated the government\u2019s commitment to shifting from traditional export models toward knowledge-based industries.
\nFor the purpose, Ahsan Iqbal said the government has placed science and technology at the centre of its development strategy, the Five E\u2019s framework that focused on exports, e-Pakistan, equity and empowerment, environment, and energy and infrastructure. \u201cAn export-led economy is the heartbeat of the \u2018URAAN PAKISTAN\u2019 initiative,\u201d he said, advocating for a move beyond textiles to sectors like agri-tech, health tech, and edu-tech, which he called \u201cthe real engines of growth in the 21st century.\u201d
\nAs a testament to this shift, Ahsan Iqbal said just a day earlier, a batch of 1,000 agricultural scientists had left for China for advanced training. Calling them \u201cgame changers\u201d in facing the challenges of a third Green Revolution, he noted with pride that 50 per cent of the cohort of 300 scientists comprised women.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal, on Thursday made a clarion call for a national reawakening rooted in knowledge, innovation and technological prowess. Addressing a policy dialogue titled \u201cScience, Technology, and Engineering for Development (STED)-2025: Innovate, Integrate and Implement\u201d here at the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS), he said Pakistan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442566,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-473092","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n