The new airport at Multan has been named Dr Abdus Salam Airport In a series of steps announced last night by the prime minister of Pakistan at a special session of the National Assembly – steps that have taken the world by storm and raised Pakistan's image manifold – the new airport at Multan has been named Dr Abdus Salam Airport to honour Pakistan's first and only Nobel Prize winner.
The prime minister observed that "for too long we have neglected this great human being because of views held by people who spread hate and intolerance."
He added amidst thunderous applause that a new stamp was being issued on 29 January to mark Dr Salam's birthday and declared it a public holiday.
He said that steps had already been taken to preserve the small house he grew up in and the school he attended in Jhang. Both places, he added, were national monuments and would be suitably honoured.
The prime minister's speech was continuously interrupted by cries
of "Well done!" "Bravo!" and "Pakistan Zindabad!"
and one could see how visibly he was moved.
He said that a man who had dedicated his life and work
for the greater glory of Muslims everywhere,
and in particular Pakistan,
deserved to be a national hero.
He announced that major roads in all cities
would be named after the great scientist,
thousands of scholarships in Dr Salam's name would be given to outstanding students and researchers and international seminars
would henceforth be held in his memory.
The prime minister added that as Dr Salam was the founding director of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), and establishment of the Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) in the Pakistan
Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC),
all three institutions would herewith carry Dr Salam's name.
Government College, Punjab University, the Institute of Physics at Quaid-e-Azam University and the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (Pinstech) at Nilore, Islamabad, would rename their physics departments,
erect statues of the learned doctor and convene special meetings, programmes, workshops and seminars to inspire new students to follow in his footsteps.
He said he was inspired by a decision taken in 1997 when the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, set up by Dr Salam in 1964, became Dr Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics.
The prime minister concluded that henceforth Dr Salam's life and achievements would be part of the regular curriculum in all institutions, and that these were just a handful of measures that were being taken
to give Dr Salam an honourable place that he so richly deserved.
He assured the cheering house that more such steps were already being planned.
The prime minister's government fell within 24 hours of announcing these measures.
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