Gujrat: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has strongly criticized the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, alleging that children in the province are being exposed to messages that promote violence rather than development and education.
Addressing students at a ceremony at the University of Gujrat, she said that as a mother, she had come to make a promise to the youth of Punjab — that all provincial resources would be dedicated to their education and progress.
Maryam Nawaz emphasized that scholarships and laptops under the Honhaar Scholarship Program are being distributed purely on merit.
She stated that she is accountable before God and that no student can claim to have received a scholarship through favoritism. “Every deserving child has a laptop and a scholarship based on merit,” she said.
Calling 2026 the “Year of the Youth,” she highlighted that Generation Z represents the future of Punjab and Pakistan. She encouraged students to dream big and assured them that the government is committed to providing facilities, technical training, and opportunities to help them succeed. She added that millions of students in Punjab are receiving technical education and benefiting from free green bus services to attend educational institutions.
In contrast, she alleged that across the Attock border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, children are being handed weapons and taught aggressive behavior. “There is a clear difference — here there are scholarships and laptops, there is progress; there, there is unrest,” she remarked.
Maryam Nawaz further stated that she considers herself Pakistani first and Punjabi later, stressing that national unity and development should be the ultimate goal. She urged young people to feel connected to their homeland and to recognize their responsibility toward the country’s future.
She concluded by saying that blocking roads in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa does not affect Punjab and that access to healthcare and services in other provinces remains uninterrupted despite political tensions
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