Imran: Our vision is to set up colleges like NUML across the country

MIANWALI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairperson Imran Khan said that his party's vision is to set up colleges like National University of Modern Languages (NUML) across the country to impart good quality education to the youth, which further enables them to secure good jobs.

He was addressing NUML's convocation on Sunday. According to Imran, the only way forward for Pakistanis is acquiring education and employment.

"Pakistanis are suffering from an inferiority complex as we are lagging behind," he said. "Nowadays, we seem inspired by Western culture. When people see someone successful, they try to imitate them. We copy their dress and think that we can be successful like them. The result is that we become their slaves. We should never forget what our roots are."

Talking about what can be done to address our lack of progress, Imran said we need to dream first in order to do something big. "Pakistan was also the result of a dream," he said. "People thought Pakistan would never be made. Until you have determination and perseverance, you can't be successful."

He talked about the importance of never giving up. "I was also made fun of," he said. "When I lost in the 1997 elections, funds stopped coming in for Shaukat Khanum Hospital. I was told to quit politics. If I had done that, PTI would never have been born." According to him, whenever you do something new, people will say you are crazy.

According to Imran, 95% of the graduating students have landed good jobs. "Pakistan's biggest problem is unemployment," he said. "To address that, we need to impart education through colleges that enable them to get jobs."

Imran said that we need to set up colleges like NUML in rural areas as well. He talked about how people from rural areas migrate to urban settings in an attempt to succeed. According to Imran, this bears an imbalance between rural and urban settings. "Our vision is to set up such colleges and universities across Pakistan," he said.

The PTI chief further promised that a multi-purpose sports stadium will be set up at NUML for students as well as the locals of Mianwali. "We will also set up a [good] quality hospital in the area over a piece of land nearby," he said, adding that a medical college will then be established.

He thanked the university for the security arrangements they made for him.

He also congratulated the faculty, students and parents for the outstanding results the varsity produced.