Islamabad:USAID Tuesday announced giving 500 scholarships to university students from flood-affected areas to help them complete their higher education.

This was announced by US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome in a ceremony to celebrate International Women’s Day at Higher Education Islamabad. The American ambassador said that the purpose of the scholarships is to give special attention to the people in disaster-prone areas, so they are giving scholarships to the students there. Donald Bloom said that students of higher classes in Pakistan’s flood-affected areas deserve special attention so they are giving 60 per cent of these scholarships to women.

Addressing the ceremony, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said that providing education facilities to two-thirds of Pakistan’s youth population is a challenge and they are deeply grateful to the United States for the USAID scholarship. Speaking at the event, Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said that the support of the American government in the field of education is commendable.