$6.3mn UAE-funded cadet college opens in Pakistan’s northwest

WAZIRISTAN / WAM

Chief of Pakistani Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif inaugurated on Saturday Spinkai Cadet College in South Waziristan, which was built as part of the UAE-funded Project to Assist Pakistan (PAP) at a total cost of US$ 6.3 million.
The College was built in line with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the follow up of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, to assist the friendly people of Pakistan through a number of development and humanitarian projects.
The opening ceremony was attended by senior Pakistani army officers, government officials, tribal elders and students.
Accompanied by Abdullah Khalifa Al Ghafli, Director of PAP, General Sharif unveiled the plaque of the project, amid shouts of gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and prayers to Allah the Almighty to reward him with good health and longevity.
Addressing the ceremony, General Sharif expressed thanks and appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for their continuous support and for their humanitarian initiatives.
“When I was a small boy, my father told me about a hospital built and opened in Lahore by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. When I went to see the hospital, I was moved by the few words written on the memorial plaque: A gift to Pakistan,” he added.
Spinkai Cadet College, the second of its kind to be built by the UAE in South Waziriztan after Wana College, offers secondary level education to 450 cadets. It is built on an 11,054 square meter plot and consists of 22 classrooms, a lecture hall, an arts hall, four fully-equipped laboratories, staff and students accommodation, a dining hall and a sports hall.