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Wednesday, 28 August 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
A Sri Lankan delegation led by Gift of Sight Sri Lanka Chairman Ifthikhar Aziz, under the patronage of the Sri Lankan High Commission in Islamabad, together with High Commissioner N.M. Shahied, called on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to gift 65 corneas to visually-impaired people in Pakistan. The initiative was taken by the Sri Lankan High Commission in Islamabad. The delegation included Fazal Lafir, Rizvi Ismail, and Idris Admani, championing the cause of healthy sight, particularly among youth and children.
Prime Minister Imran Khan highly valued and appreciated the humanitarian gesture. He said that it was a great initiative to provide corneas on a compassionate basis which would enable people to regain their eye sight.
Prime Minister Khan said that Pakistan deeply values its close and friendly relations with Sri Lanka. These relations, he added, have been nurtured over decades through a continuous interaction at bilateral, regional and international levels. The Prime Minister also expressed satisfaction on the growing people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
The Sri Lankan delegation thanked the Prime Minister for receiving them and said that the gift of corneas from the people of Sri Lanka would help in strengthening the bonds of friendship between the two nations.
Early this year, Pakistan announced that it would give 1,000 scholarships to Sri Lankan students to study in the best higher educational institutions in Pakistan. The scholarship will be provided under the Pak-Sri Lanka higher education co-operation program and offers full tuition fee, accommodation, study and book allowances plus a one-time return air-ticket. The scholarships would be spread over the next 5 years and will offer 1,000 students to pursue undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies in some of the top-ranking universities in Pakistan.