LAHORE: (Monday, June 15, 2026): A special ceremony was held at the Punjab University Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB) to honor Pakistani researchers and scientists included in Stanford University's Global Top 2% Scientists List 2025, as well as recipients of research grants awarded under the Higher Education Commission's (HEC) National Research Program for Universities (NRPU) 2025-26. The event was attended by Punjab Minister for Education Rana Sikandar Hayat, HEC Chairman Prof. Dr. Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, Punjab Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, vice chancellors from universities across Pakistan, renowned scientists, and researchers. Addressing the ceremony, Rana Sikandar Hayat congratulated the award-winning researchers and scientists and reaffirmed the Punjab government's commitment to promoting higher education, research, and the development of quality human resources. He said the government had increased funding for universities by 1,100 percent to strengthen higher education in the country. He noted that the budget for Punjab's universities had been raised from Rs2 billion to Rs25 billion. He said that all universities in Punjab were showing improvement and enrollment in public-sector universities was increasing. He highlighted that around 40 successful candidates in the CSS examinations were students of Punjab University. He added that vice chancellors had been appointed purely on merit and announced that the Honhaar Scholarship Program would be enhanced from Rs15 billion to Rs20 billion. He also emphasized that university alumni could play a significant role in the development and progress of higher education institutions. HEC Chairman Prof. Dr. Niaz Ahmad Akhtar said that approximately 1,200 Pakistani researchers had been included in the global ranking, describing it as a proud achievement for the country. He urged researchers to transform applied research into innovation, entrepreneurship, and societal development through greater collaboration and effective sharing of resources. He stressed the need to support universities in Balochistan and paid tribute to researchers and scientists for their valuable contributions to Pakistan's development. He assured that the federal government would continue to play a strong role in promoting research at universities. Punjab Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan congratulated the award recipients and emphasized the need for greater investment in research to fully harness the research potential of universities. Earlier, HEC Adviser for Research, Development and Innovation Dr. Muhammad Nasir informed the audience that more than 1,200 Pakistani researchers had been included in the Global Top 2% Scientists List 2025, with over 500 of them belonging to Punjab. Highlighting the competitive nature of the National Research Program for Universities, he said that 142 research grants worth more than Rs1.26 billion had been awarded under the program this year.