Internship Program Launched: Largest-ever Agri ‘Graduates Internship Program’ launched at UAF – Pakistan

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has launched the largest agricultural internship programme for graduates in Pakistan’s history at Faisalabad University of Agriculture.

A scholarship of Rs 60,000 per month will be provided to 1,000 agricultural graduates.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif distributed appointment letters among the agriculture students.

Speaking on the occasion, the CM said, “Thanks to Allah that today we are starting the implementation of Pakistan’s biggest historic Kisaan package. Now that we have actually started working on the Kissan package, the fact that the students are here and have received the placement letter is proof that the implementation of the Kissan package has started in a very short time. When someone exploits the youth, politics is denigrated. Politics is a part of life.”

She said: “Those who raise slogans of youth should stand up and tell me that if there is a young person who has been given a job on merit in the last six years, I have broken the traditions of the past, aroused the discontent of the party and 95% of my cabinet consists of youth.

My cabinet has well-educated and hardworking youth whose hard work is the result of their presence here today. The ministers of my cabinet are not representatives of the PML-N, but representatives of the people. Within a short period of 6 months, this project has not only been launched, but people have also been given jobs.”

CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif said, “I swear that none of these youths got jobs based on recommendation, but only on merit. Such transparency is unprecedented in the past.

CM Punjab said, “It is an easy task I can say to go to another province to hold a meeting or commit vandalism. My opponents have no work to do and when they talk, they spew piles of filth. The system of disbelief can work but the system of oppression cannot, because oppression is based on lies.”

She added: “Wherever I go to a hospital, I meet patients from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We have started a heart surgery programme where more than 15 thousand children will undergo heart surgery. More than 100 heart surgeries have been performed in a week, many of whom are patients from KPK. The only priority of the KPK government is to create chaos in other provinces. I am not afraid of opposition slogans and I will not hesitate to speak the truth.

During Muhammad Nawaz Sharif’s tenure, there was talk of GDP growth and development. But today, the focus is only on who can shout at whom. Do the youth want such a Pakistan for themselves? Whenever I go to office, I spend every moment making things easy for you.”

She said: “Till today, no government has taken steps to protect the girls. We have ensured the safety of the girls through virtual police stations.

With Safe City and Pink Button you can get help from the government in difficult times. More than 5000 applications have been received for the internship program, of which 1000 have been selected. All these young people are from agricultural universities and their age is below 25 years. It is a matter of luck for me that 25% of them are girls. You all are the source of communication between me and the farmers.

Next year we are going to launch the biggest Kissan package worth Rs400 billion in the history of Punjab. Punjab is the biggest food basket in the whole of Pakistan.”

The CM said, “We have decided this year that the government will not buy wheat. The government does not buy wheat from farmers but from mafias and commission agents, who hold the farmers hostage. There is immense corruption in this entire process, each bag of Bardana is sold for crores.

The farmer never gets a fixed rate from the government. By stopping this corruption, the price of bread has come down considerably. In no other province except Punjab does bread cost 12 or 13 rupees? I also ask my team members to take care of the person who has to run his household for 30 thousand rupees.

Punjab is the only province in Pakistan where inflation has fallen continuously for the past six months.

We are going to provide an interest-free loan of one and a half lakh to the small farmers for the harvest. We have received ten lakh applications for Kissan Card in Punjab. 3.5 lakh farmers have been eligible, of which the cards have already been distributed.”

CM said, “Kissan cards will be activated from October 15. The message to the farmer is that you should plant wheat without any fear; I will not let you lose. If they give profit to the commissioner agent and the mafia, the price of bread will go up. I also want to benefit the farmer and make the bread of the poor cheap. Our effort is to ensure that the farmer gets a loan and is not exploited. We have started the green tractor programme in which the government pays Rs 10 lakhs of the tractor price of Rs 40 lakh.

The government will give Rs10 lakh subsidy on tractors worth Rs25 lakh for small farmers. By the grace of Allah farmers have full faith in the Punjab government, Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif. The farmer knows that we will also get loans and machinery. It is easy to shout the farmer’s slogan but till date no one has taken practical steps for his welfare”.

The CM said, “More than 0.8 million applications have been received under the Apna Chhat Apna Ghar scheme. Agriculture centres have been built in Bahawalpur, Multan, Sahiwal and other cities where the farmer has all the facilities under one roof. We are almost done with setting up an agriculture bank for the farmers, which will be launched soon. We are taking tube wells for solarisation.”

The CM said, “A Chief Minister entered the jurisdiction of Punjab and smashed the windows of a bus with an AK-47. Control the ongoing hooliganism and terrorism in your province, Maryam Nawaz Sharif will not allow the people of Punjab to become terrorists. Your own people are dying of hunger and disease, pay attention to them. Punjab is functioning under law and order.

Two policemen ended their rally at the appointed time. In case of any crime, I immediately seek details from the concerned DPO. What does a Chief Minister of a province teach the youth by standing in the assembly and making such allegations against me? Paying full attention to the vandalism, not discharging your duties is criminal negligence.”

The CM said, “There is a government in Punjab which thinks of the people of Punjab. God willing, Punjab will become a developed state within five years. I am proud of the youth who got the graduate internship in agriculture and your parents will also be proud of you.”

Provincial Minister of Agriculture Ashiq Hussain Kirmani and Minister of Agriculture Iftikhar Sahoo also delivered speeches.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024