Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has pledged to ensure equal access to quality education across Pakistan, saying educational disparities remain a major obstacle to building the welfare state envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Addressing an International Youth Day 2026 event in Islamabad on Wednesday, the prime minister said Pakistan could not become a welfare state without providing standardised, quality education from Karachi to Peshawar. He highlighted the stark difference between children from privileged families, who have access to elite institutions and overseas education, and millions of underprivileged children who lack even basic educational opportunities.

Shehbaz said the government was expanding the network of Danish Schools beyond Punjab to Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Balochistan. The initiative aims to provide disadvantaged children with free education comparable to elite institutions.

The prime minister also stressed the growing importance of technical education, information technology, and artificial intelligence. He said 1,000 students had been sent to China for agricultural technology training last year, while high-achieving students will receive IT and AI training in China this year.

He also announced plans for a Danish university in Islamabad, with classes expected to begin next year. The government, he added, has distributed around 700,000 laptops among meritorious students and plans to provide another 250,000 this year.