Among others, the meeting was attended by Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Senator Ishaq Dar, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Sartaj Aziz, Senator Parvaiz Rasheed, Humayun Akhtar Khan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Tariq Azeem, Marvi Memon, Chaudhry Jaffer Iqbal and other party leaders. The meeting discussed various proposals on education, health, price hike, unemployment, load shedding and foreign affairs.
Nawaz called for making proper use of energy resources to achieve the goal of development and prosperity in the country. He also said that an environment conducive to investment is a must to generate more and more employment opportunities apart from achieving the goal of economic development. He said that the PML-N would devote all its energies to bringing about an economic turn around in the country, if voted to power. He said that the PML-N manifesto for the next elections envisages revolutionary measures for progress and public welfare. He vowed to the take the country out of the darkness into light.
He said that the crackdown against the 'extortion', which was collected in the name of the toll tax, was initiated in the tenure of the PML-N. He made it clear that the PML-N did not believe in the politics of allegations but of constructive criticism.
Sharing his views on education, sources said that the participants believed that education must become the number one national priority since it was the key driver of economic and social progress. And added that education was also the greatest single equaliser of society and mass education could help to solve most of our problems. An educated, technological advanced and progressive society is the aspiration of all the people of Pakistan.
They added that the PML-N must resolve to work out and implement a National Education Policy to break the monopoly of the elitist education system and to create equal education opportunities for the youth of all classes of society to get quality education in the public sector institutions. National curricula needs to be standardised and adopted at all levels to eliminate a multi-class system-based education in the country. Focus must be on the academic content in science and mathematics, they added. One important objective of education at all levels must be to add to the productivity of the youth so that he or she is able to make valuable contribution to society, they said.
The PML-N seeks the goal of ensuring the schooling of all children between six and 12 years of age in 15 years. About the health sector, the PML-N think tank said that there can be no development without a healthy nation. Pakistan has lagged behind other developing countries in terms of its social development. They said that the PML-N remains committed to social sector development and, inter-alia, pursues the policy of providing quality health care to all citizens in all parts of the country.