Civil society calls for approval of Sindh Youth Policy

Karachi
With two-thirds of Pakistan’s population under 30 years old, it was regrettable that the Sindh Youth Policy drafted in 2012 was still awaiting approval, lamented politicians and members of the civil society on Thursday.
They expressed these views while speaking at a meeting, held with parliamentarians to discuss and finalise the youth policy, organised by the Civil Society Support Programme (CSSP) in collaboration with the Citizens Voice Programme (CVP).
Pakistan Muslim League – Functional (PML-F) MPA Mehtab Akbar Rashidi while speaking on the occasion expressed disappointment over the policy existing as a draft.
She called on the government to take concrete steps for incorporating recommendations from stakeholders in the policy and making a move towards its coherent implementation.
She remarked that political parties used the youth to serve their own interests, adding that lack of education resulted in young people being used as political fuel.
Additional Secretary Youth and Sports Department Rafia Haleem said the youth policy was a technical document and it took over a year and a half to finalise it after consultations from members of the youth and civil society.
Secretary of the Benazir Bhutto Human Resource Development Board, Karim Bux Siddiqui, while addressing the meeting said during the past 20 years Pakistan had gone down ten spots according to the Human Development Index.
He said the country had ample human resource at its disposal and it was time the country uses the positive energy in the greater interest of the country.
He advised training young people for the construction sector which he opined had great potential for development.
Advocate M Prakash believed the youth should have reserved seats in the local bodies system whereas schemes focusing on their development and growth should be introduced.
Syed Asif Hussain of the Habib Foundation said the government focused on developing physical infrastructure while completely ignored the human capital.