Terrorists to be defeated by educating children: Zardari

 

PARIS: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday announced $10 million donation for a global war chest to educate all girls by 2015 set up in the name of Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban as she was campaigning for girls’ education.

While addressing the ceremony, the president said that the terrorists and extremists would be defeated by giving education to children, particularly the girls.

The “Malala Fund for Girls’ Right to Education” is aimed at raising billions of dollars to ensure that all girls should go to school by 2015 in line with the United Nation’s Millennium Goals.Pakistan Education Minister Waqas Akram signed the agreement with the Unesco head Irina Bokova.

“A young determined daughter of my country was attacked by the forces of darkness,” Zardari said at the high-profile “Stand Up For Malala” event at the Unesco headquarters in Paris.“We are facing two forces in the country; Malala represents the forces of peace and we are fighting with the forces of darkness, hatred and violence,” he said.

The ceremony drew French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, former British premier Gordon Brown, the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, and the former presidents of Finland and Chile.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the EU’s top diplomat Catherine Ashton send special videotaped messages of support.Zardari slammed fundamentalists for giving the religion a bad name.

“The first word of the Holy Quran is ‘Iqra’ which is read,’ he said, attacking the “fringe minority of darkness, of hatred, of conflict.”What extremists fear is a girl with a book in her hands,” he said.

Clinton highlighted the pressing need for universal education, saying: “Closing the education gap is a powerful prescription for economic growth.”Ashton said the EU, which on Monday collected this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, said the estimated 930,000-euro ($1.2 million) prize money would be donated to help children affected by war.

Addressing the conference, President Zardari said Malala was the symbol of progressive Pakistan and was attacked by the forces of darkness.The president added that there was a need for long term political reforms which were the key to education.

The president said the government will foil nefarious designs of extremist elements with the cooperation of the people. He said the international community should assist Pakistan in ensuring quality education to girls enabling them to contribute to the development of the country.

The President said Pakistan will continue to uphold the ideals of the United Nations to education for all. Pakistan and Unesco signed historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish “The Malala Fund for Girl’s Right to Education” to promote girls education in Pakistan and other countries with the support of international community.

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