Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai presenting certificate and prize to a student. [Picture/PAMRU]

by Tahir Ali

PESHAWAR, July 10 (Gwadar Pro) – “Pakistan-China Friendship is higher than the heights of the Himalayas; deeper than the depth of the Arabian Sea; sweeter than honey and much stronger than steel,” this excerpt from Javeria Salah Uddin, a student from Mardan, who secured first position in a speech competition “Pak-China Dosti, Speech E-Muqabla”.

The speech contest, which was attended by dozens of students aged up to 18, was held online to commemorate 70 years of Pakistan-China Relationships.

The Elementary & Secondary Education Department of (E&SED) and Performance Management & Reforms Unit (PMRU) of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had jointly organized the speech contest. Due to Covid-19, the speech contest was organized online and the participating students were asked to submit a 90-second speeches via “KP Talent Platform”, a special mobile application developed by PMRU.

The speakers lauded Chinese Government’s assistance during the coronavirus pandemic and highlighted the successful journey of 70 years of ‘Pak-China Dosti’.

“In 1950, Pakistan became the first Muslim and noncommunist country to recognise the People’s Republic of China,” said Jujhar Singh, one of the contesters.

There were two categories of Urdu and English speeches. In English category, Javeria Salah Uddin secured first position, Jujhar Singh second, followed by Yahya Jamil. Similarly, in Urdu language contest, Hasnain and Hamza Shamozai shared first position, Abdul Haseeb Yousafzai and Aleba Shakeel remained second and third respectively.

The winners of the speech contests were announced during a special ceremony held at Peshawar. Shahram Khan Tarakai, Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distributed prizes (cheques) and certificates amongst the winning students.