Like a seed that cannot grow without stability, moisture and the right season, even the best human potential cannot flourish without peace and continuity: minister
\n ISLAMABAD
\nMinister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Friday stressed the need to provide quality education to children, with a particular focus on character building and training, enabling them to compete in the modern era and play their due role in national development.
\nAddressing the annual Teacher Development Conference (TDC-2025) here, the minister said education was not merely the transfer of content but equally a process of shaping children\u2019s personalities, values and sense of responsibility.Recalling his own childhood, he said earlier generations grew up reading \u2018Taleem-o-Tarbiyat,\u2019 a magazine that blended learning with moral guidance, adding that a balance must be restored in Pakistan\u2019s education system.
\nExpressing concern that many children were no longer familiar with their literary, historical and cultural heritage, he said teaching was \u201ca holistic effort\u201d and meaningful reforms required a national commitment to restoring identity and cultural awareness among the youth.
\nAhsan Iqbal said that despite possessing intelligence, skills, honesty and resources comparable to successful nations, Pakistan had repeatedly fallen behind due to the absence of an enabling environment.
\n\u201cLike a seed that cannot grow without stability, moisture and the right season, even the best human potential cannot flourish without peace and continuity,\u201d he observed. He underlined that all successful countries ensured four fundamentals like peace, political stability, continuity of policies for at least a decade, and long-term economic direction.
\nHe cited China, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Bangladesh as examples where leadership tenures spanning 10 to 30 years allowed policy outcomes to materialize. Reflecting on Pakistan\u2019s own history, he said the country\u2019s developmental take-off periods in the 1960s, early 1990s and 2013\u20132018 were repeatedly disrupted due to instability and political reversals.
\nHe recalled the launch of Vision 2010 in 1997 and Vision 2025 in 2013 by the PML-N government, both derailed before delivering their full impact. \u201cIt is not that we lack planning or competence; it is instability and policy discontinuity that have denied us the dividends,\u201d he remarked.
\nHe said that after the economic turbulence of recent years, Pakistan was now witnessing improvement across various indicators, citing that inflation which stood at 38 percent three years ago had fallen to around 4.5 percent, the stock market had risen from 80,000 points to 170,000, and remittances had climbed to record levels. These trends, he added, had restored international confidence in Pakistan. Urging the nation not to repeat past mistakes, he said, \u201cThis is the fourth opportunity Allah has given us. We must not crash this take-off like the previous three.\u201d
\nAhsan Iqbal said Pakistan\u2019s strong and unified response during the successful Marka-e-Haq had significantly enhanced the country\u2019s standing, adding that the episode had elevated Pakistan\u2019s prestige globally, with the world now viewing it as a strong and dignified nation.
\n\u201cThis is the image we must protect,\u201d he remarked.
\nThe minister said friendly countries were re-engaging with Pakistan, noting that Saudi Arabia was pursuing a major defence pact, China was advancing CPEC Phase-II, and relations with the United States were entering a new chapter.
\nHe said teachers must keep their eyes on Pakistan\u2019s centennial year – 2047- when the country would stand before history alongside other regional nations.
\nHighlighting the need for a shift in national mindset, he said Pakistan required an \u201ceconomic long march,\u201d not political ones. Drawing parallels with China, he stressed that national progress depended on stability and social solidarity, values that must be understood by every citizen and student.
\nHe said nations did not win development battles through short bursts of excitement but through the patience and endurance of a test match. \u201cWe must prepare a generation that understands what it takes for a nation to grow and succeed,\u201d he added.
\nTurning again to educators, Ahsan Iqbal said teaching was not a job but a mission, urging them to play a decisive role in shaping the nation\u2019s future and instilling in students the determination to contribute meaningfully to Pakistan\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Like a seed that cannot grow without stability, moisture and the right season, even the best human potential cannot flourish without peace and continuity: minister ISLAMABAD Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Friday stressed the need to provide quality education to children, with a particular focus on character building and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-515926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n