PESHAWAR: The Alkhidmat Bano Qabil graduation ceremony was held on Sunday at Nishtar Hall, Peshawar, where over 10,000 students who completed free IT courses were awarded certificates, and top performers received laptops. The event marked the successful conclusion of the program’s first phase and the official launch of Bano Qabil Phase Two, which includes 28 additional advanced courses.
Engineer Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, Emir Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and the founding figure behind the Bano Qabil program, presided as chief guest. In his keynote address, he underscored the urgent need for a unified education system in Pakistan and criticized the state’s longstanding neglect of education as a national priority.
“Since independence, education has been divided along class lines, denying equal opportunity to millions,” Rehman said. “Public schools have been deliberately weakened, forcing families to turn to expensive private institutions. It’s time to change this system.”
The Bano Qabil program, run by Alkhidmat Foundation, aims to equip Pakistan’s youth who make up over 65 percent of the population with market-relevant IT skills free of charge. In the first phase, more than 186,000 students applied from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and over 25,000 appeared in what was the province’s largest-ever IT entrance test. The selected 10,000 students completed 16 specialized courses over a three-month period.
During the event, Emir JI Pakistan Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, President Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan Professor Dr Hafizur Reham, Emir JI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Central Abdul Wasi and President Alkhidmat Foundation KP Khalid Waqas inaugurated the second phase of the program, which will now offer a total of 44 IT courses. They also distributed certificates and laptops to the graduating students.
Alkhidmat Foundation leaders in attendance included Provincial General Secretary Sabir Hussain Awan, District Emir Bahrullah Khan Advocate, General Secretary Shakir Siddiqui, Program Director Mian Sohaibuddin Kakakhel and Alkhidmat district president Arbab Abdul Haseeb. The ceremony was attended by educators, business leaders including Sarhad Chamber  Commerce President Fazal Muqeem Khan, social media activists, journalists, students, and their families.
Speaking on the program’s growth, Khalid Waqas said, “Bano Qabil has become a model for empowering youth. We’re not just offering courses, we’re building futures.”
In a passionate conclusion, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman also voiced solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine, condemning the ongoing humanitarian crisis and urging the Pakistani government to take a firm moral stand on the international stage.
“Bano Qabil is more than a program—it’s a vision for a better Pakistan,” he said.