TOBA TEK SINGH: Developing a knowledge-based economy and fostering strong academia-industry linkages is crucial for social and economic development, said University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Sarwar Khan at the launch of the third cohort of the National Incubation Centre (NIC) at the UAF on Tuesday.

He said the youth must be equipped with innovative thinking and entrepreneurial skills so that they can become job provider instead of a job seeker. He said that the NIC and the University`s Business Incubation Centre are providing resources to students with unique business ideas to launch startups so that the wheels of the economy can be turned on scientific grounds and economic improvement can beensured.

He said that nature had blessed the young generation with excellent talents and there was a need to provide an environment to further develop their talents.

Assistant Commissioner Abid Mumtaz Khan said that innovative thinking is the guarantee of development.

He said that we have to play our role for the uplift so that we can make the society a place of happiness.

Senior Manager of Fauji Fertilizer Raja Junaid Mujtaba said that by developing agriculture on modern lines, not only self-sufficiency can be made possible but also we can earn forex.

NIC Project Director Zeeshan Shahid said that 76 startup companies have been launched in the NIC Faisalabad so far, which has created more than 1,000 jobs and generated Rs52 million in revenue. He said that this centre is funding startup companiesrelated to agriculture.

KILLED: Three alleged robbers were killed in two separate police encounters late on Monday, two in Jhang and one in Faisalabad.

According to a Jhang police spokesperson, two suspects in a car opened fire at police officials when stopped at a checkpoint near Sanpal Chowk in Satellite Town.

The suspects took cover in nearby fields but were killed in retaliatory fire, reportedly by bullets from their accomplices who managed to escape.

The deceased were identified as brothers Nasir Ahmad Kathia and Fayaz Ahmad Kathia from Harappa, Sahiwal, wanted in multiple robbery cases across several districts.

In Faisalabad`s Gulberg area, four suspected carjackers fired at police near Chenab Chowk when their vehicle was flagged to stop. After a chase and anexchange of fire, one suspect, later identified as Noaman Ijaz, was critically injured and taken to Allied Hospital, where he succumbed to injuries allegedly caused by his accomplices` gunfire.

Faisalabad police confirmed Ijaz was involved in several dacoities.

KIDNAPPED: A woman was kidnapped in Gojra on Tuesday, according to a complaint filed by Nazakat Ali, a resident of Sharifabad.

Ali reported that his wife was abducted by three men who forced her into a car on Jhang Road and fled.

Separately, two youths attempted to rape a woman in Chak 338-JB, Gojra. The woman raised an alarm, forcing the suspects to flee. Nawan Lahore police have registered a case against a named and his unidentified accomplice on the complaint of the woman.