Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has stressed the need to start a crash programme to promote literacy in the country.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad today, he said the "Uraan Pakistan" initiative envisages this resolve to enhance literacy in Pakistan along with the cooperation of the provincial governments.

The Minister said no country in the world has made progress without achieving a literacy rate of ninety percent. He said we have to bring 25 million out of school children to the education institutions.