Revival of value system imperative for national growth

Islamabad:After three scores and fifteen years of independence, there was a serious need to revisit our national value system.

This was agreed amongst a group of youth attending a roundtable discussion on ‘75 years of Pakistan—reflections’ organised at Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) here Monday. The event featured a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate level students from Lahore and Islamabad. The discussion aimed at bringing forth the voice of youth which was Pakistan’s biggest asset.

The participants agreed that while there had been major issues such as political turmoil, economic instability, religious disharmony, interprovincial discord and absence of nationalism, Pakistan’s resilience in the face of all that it had been through since its inception was commendable.

Nadeem Riyaz, president, IRS, observed that sincerity and loyalty to our motherland regardless of the challenges confronting the country was the need of the hour. The youth representatives expressed hope and optimism for Pakistan’s bright future on the basis of what Quaid-i-Azam said, i.e, Pakistan could never be undone.

The reading on the wall about Pakistan’s future read ‘hope’ and ‘everything positive’ said Ayesha Zafar, an undergraduate student from National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad. Fizza Bano and Malik Saad, undergraduate students from NDU mentioned the challenges that Pakistan had to endure since birth in addition to highlighting its resolve in standing tall among the comity of nations.

Ms Bano stated that as a young political scientist she saw lack of ownership among Pakistani nationals as extremely concerning. She added that it was imperative for our people to own their national identity and let it prevail beyond their sub-national and ethnic identities to emerge as a united nation that was capable of addressing troubling issues at home.