If you observe the numbers, Pakistan should be a power of innovative young minds that allow a positive change to impact your country. With a population where more than 60% under 30, it is quite noticeable for young people to have appropriate thoughts to revolutionize Pakistan’s dynamics. Or at least that’s what we are telling ourselves. Actually, Pakistani youth is a force that produces chaos without final direction. Equipped with unparalleled motivation among young people, our young people have everything they need, except power, authority and let’s be sincere, any decent idea.
As a young sovereign, I can demonstrate the fact that the young generation of Pakistan is really proud, but is proud of what exactly? Well, many Pakistani young people seem more inverted in idolatrons to political leaders than to think critically about the state of their own country. An influential politician, Imran Khan’s youthful supporters mutinied, destroyed public property and closed schools, all in the name of a leader who, let’s be honest, did not leave the country exactly in a better way. Khan’s followers made him a deity, making him the centerpiece of a national identity crisis. Instead of addressing real problems, they are busy glorifying a man, ignoring the destruction caused by his blind devotion.
Young people are also obsessed with the causes that do not concern them, such as fighting for ideals that, frankly, have not yet shown real results. Many have disappointed the situation in the country that they don’t even care about their future. The idea of nationalism has vanished, replaced by a feeling of hopelessness and self -pity. They prefer to complain about poverty than to work towards solutions. There is little patience or resilience in this generation, just a feeling that they are trapped in an eternal loop of misery. That is what his fall is promoting. The lack of action, the lack of unity and the tendency to blame the generation passed by the disaster in which they are.
But we give credit where it is due. Many young Pakistani want to change things. NGOs begin, they are volunteers and promote local causes, at least until they receive a better job offer abroad. They care about their communities and social problems, but not enough to stay and promote real change. They have memorized all inspiring appointments about “loving their country”, but their dreams are not related to them.
It is a strange moment. We are raising a generation that is technically more “connected” than ever thanks to social networks, they have more knowledge than any generation before. However, the connection with its roots, culture and history? That signal seems a bit weak. Instead, they move through their feeds, they like the American content, dreaming of signs of dollar and wondering when they can shine elsewhere. Irony is almost painful.
In the end, Pakistan’s youth is in fact an asset, but that is not being invested correctly. What is needed is a massive change in the way we deal with the ideas of our young people. If we continue to force them to boxes and not offer real opportunities, they will take all that motivation and pride in another place. And, let’s be honest, they will probably prosper wherever they go. But here is the rubbing: the only ones who will lose are the people who have sacrificed everything for their nation and are wasted.
