PM Youth Programme to Provide Loans, Laptops and Overseas Job Opportunities: Zeeshan Naqvi
By: Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada
Addressing a dinner hosted by the Pakistani-American organisation Stand With Pakistan in Dallas, the focal person of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme and former deputy mayor of Islamabad, Syed Zeeshan Ali Naqvi, said that 70 per cent of Pakistan’s population consists of youth. He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was personally monitoring all these initiatives to ensure that young people could play a direct role in the country’s development. The event, organised in Naqvi’s honour, was moderated by Sohail Pirzada and attended by a large number of community leaders and young professionals. Naqvi was warmly received by the diaspora community upon his arrival.
In his remarks, Naqvi said that under the Youth Programme, interest-free loans ranging from Rs300,000 to Rs600,000 were being provided to help young people launch their own businesses, while those seeking overseas employment were being offered loans of up to Rs1 million to cover visa and travel expenses. He noted that Rs75 billion had been allocated for this purpose in the current fiscal year, while more than Rs186 billion had already been disbursed. So far, millions of young Pakistanis had benefitted from opportunities for overseas employment, while the Digital Youth Hub was providing job placement and training across the country.
He further stated that the laptop scheme to promote higher education had been revived, with 100,000 laptops scheduled for distribution by October. University grants and scholarships had also been restored, with additional funding for education expected in the upcoming budget. Highlighting youth involvement in sports and cultural activities, Naqvi said that national athletes, including javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, were receiving training under the programme. Traditional sports such as tent pegging were also being promoted through events in Islamabad, attended by foreign diplomats, to showcase Pakistan’s heritage internationally.
Naqvi added that Pakistan had, for the first time, secured the chairmanship of the Commonwealth Youth Alliance Secretariat and the Youth Ministers’ Task Force, which would enhance cooperation with 56 member countries. He announced that a youth festival would soon be organised, offering training, employment and start-up opportunities, along with masterclasses designed to equip young people with global-level skills.
During the question-and-answer session, participants raised concerns about transparency in loan distribution, overseas job opportunities and the education budget. Responding to these, Naqvi said the government’s vision was clear: youth would be given skills, capital and opportunities together. “The state is providing the resources and pathways,” he remarked, “but moving forward is in the hands of the youth themselves.” He also invited the Pakistani diaspora to participate in cultural and sports events to enable youth exchanges between Pakistan and the United States. Shields were presented to various diaspora leaders on this occasion.
At the conclusion of the event, Ahmed Siddiqui, Ayaz Syed, Dr Abdul Basit, Raja Zahid, Dr Javeed Ajmal, Jalal Haider, Umar Pirzada, Ubaidur Rehman Pirzada and other community leaders attended and lauded the Government of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts for the country’s youth.
Syed Zeeshan Naqvi in Dallas with community leaders and youth in a group photo
