PM Laptop: A momentous programme for empowering Pakistan’s youth
PESHAWAR (APP): When young graduate Engr Khushal Khan used to walk into a Peshawar net café late in the evening, it was not for leisure or joy but was an extreme necessity.
As a civil engineering student at the University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, Engr Khushal a resident of Dir district has often visited metcalfe for completing assignments and research often meant spending precious time and money on rented computers. This week, that routine changed.
“I won’t need to visit a net café anymore,” he said with a smile, clutching his newly received laptop under the Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme. “This laptop will save my time, my money, and help me finish my research studies faster.”
Khushal is one of thousands of students across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including those from erstwhile FATA whose lives have been touched by the latest phase of the Prime Minister’s laptop scheme, widely described by students and educators as a landmark step toward youth educational and socioeconomic empowerment.
The distribution of laptops in Haripur district recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in impressive ceremony, sparked widespread jubilation among students from public sector universities across the province.
From the University of Gomal DI Khan and UET Peshawar to the University of Malakand, Bacha Khan University Charsadda, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, UoP, Khyber Medical University and Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, the mood of students was one of an immense gratitude and renewed hope.
Students hailed the scheme as more than a welfare initiative, calling it a practical tool that enhances employability, digital skills, and academic confidence.
“This is a great gift for students of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Engr Khushal told APP. “It helps us stand on equal footing with students in big cities and private institutions.”
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif formally inaugurated the fourth phase of the Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme 2025 at Haripur, reaffirming his government’s commitment to education, technology, and skills development of youth of Pakistan.
Addressing the ceremony, the prime minister emphasized that youth empowerment is not an expense, but an investment in Pakistan’s destiny.
More than 100,000 laptops have been distributed purely on merit since 2011, with an investment of Rs 40–50 billion, while Rs 500 billion is being allocated for youth education, skills, and empowerment.
“This programme is not for personal glory,” he said. “It is for our young citizens — the future architects of Pakistan.”
The scheme now carries the slogan “Youth of Pakistan: Making Pakistan Great”, reflecting what the prime minister described as a national commitment to merit, pride, and opportunity.
Professor Dr Muhammad Naeem of the University of Swabi said the fourth phase of the scheme reflects continuity in policy and vision of the Govt.
“This initiative began in 2010 and has survived political changes and even natural calamities,” he said. “Despite floods and economic pressures, not a single penny was cut from youth development funds. That shows education remains a top priority for PMLN Govt.”
He added that Pakistan’s steps toward Artificial Intelligence policies and even semiconductor manufacturing signal a promising technological future for the country.
Perhaps the strongest testament to the scheme’s impact came from students who shared deeply personal journeys.
Asmat Khan, an M Phil scholar from Tank studying at University of Peshawar, described the laptop as a bridge to global knowledge. Using digital tools, he now teaches media strategies in modern ways. “It changed my life — and too my students’ lives,” he said, delivering a heartfelt vote of thanks in Pashto.
Ahtisham Khan from Nowshera, KP who is a son of a retired PESCO lineman said the laptop enabled him to learn graphic design and establish the leaders nest, a platform training youth in e-commerce. “We are the practical manifestation of the prime minister’s great vision,” he said proudly.
For Bibi Sumbal, a graduate of Economics at UoP said PM laptop proved that daughters of KP can achieve anything, calling the moment of receiving laptop a source of pride for her family and province.
Muhammad Rafique Afridi from FATA University, son of a martyred police officer, shared an emotional account. “I received the laptop on merit,” he said. “Today I work as a credit officer in a bank. This programme gave me dignity, opportunity, and hope.”
Twin sisters Samia and Ayesha Zia from Agriculture University Peshawar summed it up simply: “This is not a gift. It is a pathway to innovation and the world of technology.”
Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, described the laptop scheme as “a movement to transform Pakistan into a knowledge-based economy.”
He highlighted that laptops are connecting youth from remote areas of Balochistan, AJK, erstwhileFata and Gilgit-Baltistan to global knowledge networks.
He said advanced training in Artificial Intelligence, IT, and modern trades, aimed at preparing Pakistani youth for global opportunities, including mega projects linked to Saudi Arabia Govt Vision 2030.
“Our youth will not only touch the stars,” he said. “They will reach beyond the galaxies and build a prosperous, technologically advanced Pakistan.”
For students like Engr Khushal, that journey has already begun as one laptop at a time can change destiny of millions of students.
