Pakistan on threshold of major change: Alvi

Islamabad: President Dr Arif Alvi said that Pakistan was on the threshold of major change and after five years, it would become a hugely developed country.

Addressing a ceremony to mark the 25 years of the foundation of Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO), a civil society organization, the president said that the people should keep hope as another industrial revolution was in the making.

He also referred to remarkable agreements signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to bring in investment to Pakistan during the visit of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

The event was attended by SPO Chairperson Javed Jabbar, CEO Saleem Malik, diplomats, parliamentarians, members of the SPO governing body, community representatives and people from various civil society organizations.

The event which started with the recitation of verses from Holy Quran, Bible and Gayatri Mantra also marked the presentation of lifetime achievement award to Syed Abid Rizvia, a prominent broadcaster and member of the SPO Governing Board.

The president said health and education were the major sectors requiring the attention from the government as well as the civil society organizations.He said the NGOs played a remarkable role to fill the gaps by the government to cope with the people’s needs as well as the development sector.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had also started his post cricketing journey from building a cancer hospital.He said it was the bereavement in the family that brought major distress to the family and happiness comes when people serve the downtrodden. He believed that no society could progress amid disparity with a few people having riches equaling billions of others and suffering from hunger. The president said everyone citizen must feel proud of being a Pakistani as it was the only country that had hosted millions of refugees contrary to the developed countries which were reluctant to host even few hundred refugees.

He recalled the unprecedented philanthropic services were rendered by the people of Pakistan following the 2005 earthquake.However, he viewed that the corruption and bad governance had impeded the national development.