Youth - Leaders of Tomorrow

Youth is said to be the backbone of any nation. It is the immune system of the state. Youth is like blood circulation in the body, circulating and giving power. It is the oxygen of the country. Every era has proceeded towards improvements, advancements and developments and so is the case with the youth of Pakistan.

We often refer to the phrase that the future of Pakistan is very bright because it has around seven crore saviors- youth, to bring it out of its misery. To tell you the truth, most of us don’t even know the exact number of youth in the country. Some sources refers that the exact number is six while others say it is eight and still it has become a part of the widely used oratory about the future of Pakistan and this flowery language is can be widely seen on the national day speeches. Many of us, while refering it as a tomorrow of Pakistan, neglects the fact that war cannot be won by the weapons only. To win the warfare, one needs to have a strategic plan well executed to use all the weapons and soldiers properly and effectively.

This is true for the yongsters of our country as well. The youth of the country hold over sixty per cent of the population of Pakistan which is, in fact, the large portion out of our population which is apparelled with high volumes of talent which can have great potential, if given the right opportunities and time. It is sad to say that the problem that remains constant to our youth is that their potential and expertise are not channalized effectively which is giving no gain to the country, leading the nation as a whole to fail.

The youth of Pakistan is in fact confused and misguided one which is often caught in the acts of empty articulation that is massive suicide bombing, taking refuge in criminal acts, killing, street crimes, committing frauds and so on. Here comes the most cruicial point we all face today that is what does this proper and effective use of their potential means at large? And what challenges comes in a way to the execution of this “proper and effective” use of their potential?

Challenges Faced by Youth in Pakistan

1. Among the prevailing challenges, the first and formost challenge faced by the Pakistani youngsters is the educational crunch. Out of seven million or so children in the country, there is a large number of children who are not fortunate enough to even obtain the primary education. The case of secondary school enrollment is also not very promising. Only twenty three percent out of sixty six percent youth in the country takes admission in the secondary schools whereas in the case of universities, the number shrinks to five percent only. The most disturbing fact to date is that over twenty five million children are being denied from their basic constitutional right to obtain free and compulsary education which is the building block of their future and the future of Pakistan as a whole.

Moreover, those fortunate ones who are being educated face the serious issue pertaining to the attainment of quality education. As per Education Emergency Report, 50% of rural school children cannot read a sentence and only 35% can read a story compared to 25% of school children.

2. The second challenge that is faced by the youth of the country is far more disturbing than the percentages identified in the educational crunch that is the employment and the economic prospects of Pakistan. As per the sources, Pakistan is cruicial need of over thirty million jobs in the 10 year execution plan for our country due to the continuous increase in the population of the country. The unemployment rate in the country is currently twenty percent. This contributes to the fact that there simply isn’t enough room to accommodate a large part of our youth and what is more unfortunate that most of our talented students end up doing menial jobs abroad.

3. The most dangerous of all challenges is the increasing level of depression, confusion, differing perspectives among the youngsters of our country and the degrees of these segmentations are increasing day by day. Well the differing opinions and varying beliefs are no doubt healthy and encouraging diversity to the people but the extent of blind following and lack of understanding and willingness to take part in the dialogue is alarming. There seems to be no consensus on even the most basic of issues ranging from systems of governance, education and to some extent even terrorism.

  What Youth Can do?

No doubt the primary responsibility lies with the state and its leadership for creating and implementing strategies to meet these challenges. Here, the leadership does not just mean the government, but it also includes: politicians, civil society, media and the YOUTH iteself. However, it is unfortunate that many a times the youth has just been reduced to a brand name that has been exploited by the same. The government holds one event a year, and then dismisses the youth until the next. Political parties only use young people for their street power and rallies, never including them in the decision making process. The media tries to use the youth for ratings; it calls them but by engaging them in rhetorical and conclusion-less debates only.

The government needs to work on education with a solid political will and create economic opportunities. Political parties need to listen to the youth and not just exploit them, and the media needs to engage the youth in more productive debates. But what about the youth’s own role?

The question arises what youngsters of Pakistan are doing to bring change in the current situation in the country? What is their input in the country to bring about the change? If they are expecting that the state will become their savior, what they have done to meet the expectations of the nation and state?

Too many questions to answer. But the truth is that the people, young generation particularly, beat about the bush that they are not given opportunities and tools necessary for experimenting

their talent and expertise. It is high time for the youth to realize their own role towards the country and nation and try to mark out its path. The old belief of wating for the massiah(s), leadrs or anyone for that matter is over and we have to start addressing our issues ourselves in whatever capacity we can.

Youth of Pakistan want to do something for the country, they want to have modernism, advancement in their work, studies and all other activities they are involved in. But the change cannot be brought unless and until they change their perspective about their life and other necessary things. Sadly! today boys are more involved in personal grooming, and are more colourful than girls these days. They have, instead of taking things seriously and taking part in the economic advancement of the country, become brand conscious, take too much interest in music etc. which is somewhat a negative thing.

As identified earlier, youth today is suffering from the anguish of depression which is a good sign in a way that it shows how much we love our country and have concerns for it. However, at the same time depression coupled with hopelessness and very strong opinions becomes an impediment to the successful resolution of issues. Opinions are good and we hold them because they are a means to an end. We all are working towards the same end, a prosperous Pakistan, then our opinions should be formed after dialogue and though not inherited or accepted blindly. The youngsters need to come out of their depression and act. This doesn’t mean to come out on streets and start protesting and falling prey to verbosity, but on the contrary it means developing capability, capacity and competence.

We have examples of lawyers, philosophers, scientists and students like Jinnah, Iqbal, Dr Abdul Qadeer, Dr Abdus Salam, Dr Samar Mubarak, Dr Umar Saif, Ibrahim Shahid and Zohaib Asad etc. who stood in the world to represent Pakistan. If they were not what they are today, could they have done what they did for Pakistan? Youth need to understand the importance of education and prioritize it for themselve. . Only after developing themselves will the youth will be able to develop Pakistan. I am not suggesting a total disconnect from politics or the ongoing situation of the country but the right priorities, where “jalsas”, talk shows, protests and political “chaskey” come only after educational responsibilities.

Change is never overnight and it takes time, but is a worthwhile endeavour to work for. No one is ever handed with everything or born with silver spoon. Same is for the Prophet Mohammad s.a.w who never had ideal conditions throughout his life while spreading Islam nor Jinnah had the ideal situation to fight for the Pakistan yet they remain focused and succeeded in time. Many countries have gone through this transformation phase similar to the one Pakistan is going through including Singapore, India and even the United States.

The path is clear and yest there is light too at the end of the tunnel but only if we have the willpower and patience to pass through. The young generation is undoubtedly the biggest asset of Pakistan and it is up to all of us to make sure we serve purpose in the best way possible. The purpose of this article is to not spread despair but to highlight the challenges that lie ahead and to

resolve our capability of meeting those challenges, a capability, which is more than adequate only when combined with hard work and patience.

Youth is the next generation who is going to come forward and look after the country and all other matters. It would relatively be a superior situation when our future leaders would be professional, sincere to their work and honest to their country. Youth of Pakistan has a level of potential in every filed that one could take this country to the peak of developed countries. we have a passion to do something for Pakistan. All we have to do is to decipher the potential and bring it out to make use of it.