The promise of Pakistani youth

LAHORE

Speakers during a session at the Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) have said Pakistani youth comprises over 64 percent of the population. If they are not cared for ‘properly’, it will be disastrous for the country in the days to come.

The speakers, including Human Rights activists Gulalai, Social Activist Syed Muzamil Hassan Zaidi, Senator Saifullah Magsi, Captain Pakistan Women Cricket team Sana Mir and young entrepreneur Waqas Ali, spoke during a session held at a local hotel on Saturday titled “We Can Be Heroes; the Promise of Pakistan’s Youth”.

Marc-Andre Franche was the moderator of the session presented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In his opening remarks, Marc said “64 percent of Pakistani population is below 34 years of age which is also the political, economic and social future of Pakistan. If not cared, it will be disastrous for Pakistan”.

Muzamil said unfortunately Pakistani youth had a very few heroes to follow as only a few segments/departments, including Pak-Army and cricket, had produced some of those but we needed more heroes. To a question of the moderator, he said Pakistan faced intolerance in the society due to multiple issues including lack of dialogue and lack of listening to each other’s thoughts and ideas. If we start understanding each other’s thoughts and way of living, we will be a better citizen, he added.

Sana Mir said saturation of people in different fields had created uneasiness among the youth as opportunities were less than the number of youth. But referring her cricketing experiences, Mir said very positive changes were taking place in Pakistan nowadays and the future of Pakistani youth, especially women’s, was bright. She said if more sports facilities were provided to youth, the future of the country vis-a-vis sports would be bright. Mir also highlighted the importance of sports in any society saying it was the sports which integratesd every segment of the society in one unit. “We play only as Pakistani not like Shia, Sunni, or even Punjabi or Sindhi”, Mir observed.

Saifullah Magsi, the youngest Senator of Pakistan, while admitting the dismal state of affairs vis-à-vis education particularly in Balochistan said quality of education, better opportunities and qualitative curriculum could well serve the youth in the changing world. He said education system needed some radical changes. To a question, the senator said Pakistan was facing some key issues regarding its overall development and security situation only due to wars in its neighbour besides hosting millions of Afghan refugees, etc.

Speaking on the occasion, Gulalai said youth of the country could have done wonders had the rulers given them ‘due’ importance by prioritising what they needed. “Problem is priority rather than resources”, she said.

The Human Rights activists further said efforts should be made for safe workplaces, establishment of women unions and implementation of sexual harassment laws to empower women and to end gender discrimination.

To a question, Gulalai lamented that it were the dictators who intentionally created mistrust between the masses and politicians only to serve their vested interests. The future of Pakistan, she said, lay in a democratic and liberal Pakistan.

On the occasion, Waqas said youths only dreamed of something, but in practical they didn’t show commitment and courage to achieve their target in real life. He suggested that the youth should also adopt some other ways and means of learning as conventional education would not help them in a fast changing world. With strong belief, Waqas said everything could be achieved in real life.