Pakistan HC awards Jinnah Scholarships

Pakistan High Commission, Colombo organised the Jinnah Scholarship ceremony at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), to award scholarships to bright and deserving A/Level students of Sri Lanka. These scholarships have been awarded by the Government of Pakistan to Lankan students since 2006. More than 2,400 students have benefitted from this programme, named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founding father. Major General (Retd) Umar Farooq Burki HI emphasised the importance of the relationship both countries enjoy and the fact that Pakistan aims at strengthening these strong ties. He added that the Jinnah Scholarship is a testament to the strong bond between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and reflects the commitment to enhancing the capabilities of youth with better educational opportunities. The students who qualified for this scholarship came from all provinces of the island. The ratio of Sinhalese, Tamil (67) and Muslim (74) students was also almost equal. The number of female students (87) was almost double compared to that of the male students (44).