The 120 million young people of Pakistan are forced to face a struggling economy and a storm of inflation with great surprise and despair. These young people are also aware of the fact that for the last several decades, our country’s leaders had formulated such policies that benefited themselves. Those leaders have done nothing for the crippled economy and Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves. Today, due to the poor policies of the rulers, every person of our country is indebted of Rs235,000.
Meanwhile, our beloved country has witnessed historic inflation, which has greatly troubled the citizens. Instead of taking any measures against the rising pieces, the ruling PTI is continuously blaming the previous governments. The incumbent rulers have made allegations against the previous regimes for crippling the country’s economy.
As per one allegation, the previous regimes have formulated “wrong and failed” policies and inked such agreements, in which neither our agriculture nor our industry was promoted nor education was given priority. Unfortunately, today Pakistan’s educational institutions are among the last few in the world.
In a bid to meet the demands of changing dynamics of the 21st century, it is imperative that our educational institutions adapt their curriculum in such a way that when our youth graduate, not only the domestic industry but also foreign institutions consider and recruit them at priority.
In my diplomatic tenure in United Arab Emirates (UAE), I tried to ink an agreement through various meetings with South Korea for the country’s prosperity. South Korea at that time agreed on utilizing our manpower for 20 years but demanded quality of vocational training in accordance with international standards. Ironically, in more than 400 vocational training schools in Sindh, not even 100 students can get certification according to world standards. Instead of playing a useful role, such students become a burden to society due to lack of consumption.
Today’s youth get degraded when they witness a monopoly in the distribution of plots and construction structures. Just look at the example of Karachi in which Nasla Tower got demolished even while providing all the legal documents and NOCs from the concerned institutions. It is unfortunate that not a single authority had taken action when the building was being constructed and no institution raised objection when issuing NOCs.
Declaring the structure illegal after construction is tantamount to abusing the Allies and destroying trust in all relevant institutions. A large or about 20% of any project is spent on bribes, which is why the common man faces innumerable difficulties in the allotment of plots and construction of buildings.
These plots which are allotted to officials and influential people at government rates are in fact the assets of the state and their real heirs are the people living there. If these assets are used properly and sold according to market value, numerous development works could be done. Many hospitals and educational institutions could have been established and many people could have been employed,
In spite of all these shortcomings in this country, we have innumerable resources which can be used properly to remove the shadows of despair. As a result, promising young people are drowning in disparity and hopelessness.
Dealing with all these difficulties and worries with a smile is a great challenge for our youth.
Especially the younger generation, most of whom come from middle or lower-income families. These young people who want to cross the bridge of today’s turmoil and narcissism need to be shown the right direction and for some reason this young nation finds itself stuck in a quagmire of despair and hopelessness.
This ugly political explosion, nepotism, and bribery culture will soon end and we will reap the fruits of CPEC and other projects. This is the message to the youth of my country that we have so many resources in this country that if we continue to promote education, training and skills, then this country will definitely make progress in the coming era.
Translated by: MM News Editorial Team
