Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday said India was carrying out its disinformation campaign against Pakistan in full swing and stressed that the propaganda needed to be countered by acquiring ‘cyber strength.’
The president said India had not learned the lesson even after the EU Disinfo Lab exposed its propaganda network against Pakistan.
Addressing here at the 10th convocation ceremony of Air University, he said Pakistan needed to ‘intellectually’ counter the propaganda by acquiring ‘cyber strength’ besides other conventional modes of security.
President Alvi highlighted the need for the world’s fifth most populous nation to gain knowledge in contemporary fields, particularly artificial intelligence, cyberspace, and data-driven technology.
President Alvi said Pakistan had achieved professional prowess in traditional defence such as nuclear deterrence; however, he stressed that gaining a strong foothold in cyberspace was also vital for survival.
He pointed out that in the last year’s global cyber ranking, Pakistan was placed nowhere on the list.
The situation, he said, demanded an overhaul in choices of career pathways besides a major shift in the retrogressive mindset.
Cyber knowledge best tool to equip youth with contemporary skills
He said cyber knowledge was one of the best tools to equip the country’s big youth bulge with contemporary skills.
He mentioned that a huge quantum of data based on pattern recognition was available in the world that needed the skill of artificial intelligence to quantify and analyze it.
The president called for decision-making on imparting the requisite youth knowledge about quantum computing and artificial intelligence as the world witnessed an unprecedented transformation in these fields.
He emphasized the importance of conducting thorough research on job markets by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and said that it would produce a skilled human resource to match the demands of national and international organizations, thus aptly addressing unemployment in the country.
The President awarded degrees to the graduating students and appreciated their efforts in various disciplines.
Thirteen hundred bright graduates from the undergraduate, as well as MS and Ph.D. programs received their medals and degrees in various disciplines, including Mechanical, Mechatronics, Electrical, Aerospace, and Aeronautical Engineering, in addition to the disciplines of Business Administration, Accounting & Finance, Aviation Management, Literature & Linguistics, Mathematics, Physics, Strategic Studies, Computer Science and Cyber Security.
