Ibrahim Hasan Murad, President ILM Trust and UMT, welcomed the chief guest, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ahmad Omar Murad, Chairman, ILM Trust, Dr Muhammad Aslam, Rector UMT, Abid H K Shirwani, DG UMT, members of Board of Governors of UMT and ILM Trust, faculty and staff members, graduates and their parents on the 17th UMT Convocation.
Paying a tribute to the chief guest, Ibrahim said that Shah Mahmood Qureshi is a statesman of the highest order who had shown exemplary leadership during the Dutch cartoon crisis. In response to hatred, the Foreign Minister had not only fought the case of 200 million Pakistanis but for 2 billion Muslims. He appreciated the efforts of Shah Mahmood Qureshi in restoring the prestige of Pakistan across the world.
Ibrahim Hasan Murad stated that Pakistan is going through major challenges and we need to make unified efforts to overcome them. According to the World Economic Forum, Pakistan ranks at 126 out of 140 countries in the Global Competitiveness Ranking. Barely 1% Pakistanis pay taxes. Unfortunately, 100 million people have no access to proper sanitation facilities. Other countries like Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Bangladesh Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have made great economic progress whereas we have become victims of multiple problems. There is shortage of basic needs like gas, fuel, electricity and water.
However, Ibrahim Hasan Murad added that if we initiate urgent action now, the coming generations could inherit a great Pakistan in the next 30 years, provided that we play it well. He advised the graduates to follow the lead of the Quaid-e-Azam and work hard to achieve such goals. On an important note, he said that we must export culture and ideas to secure a place in global leadership.
Age is never a barrier to success. Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia at the age of 20. Mark Zuckerberg was 20 when he launched Facebook and became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at the age of 23. The President of France and the Prime Minister of New Zealand are the world’s youngest elected leaders. He encouraged graduates to work hard to achieve their goals and never consider ‘age’ a barrier to their achievements. Ibrahim Hasan Murad concluded his speech urging the new graduates to dream big and work hard consistently to take Pakistan to new heights. He assured them that UMT would always stand beside its graduates in all such endeavors.