Daily Times

While the world frets over the preponderance of ‘graying population’. Pakistan flaunts a 60 precent energetic, ambitious and vibrant youth. After Yemen, Pakistan has the highest number of youngsters in the world. One way: An asset, a comparative advantage, a capital- if invested in. On the other hand: an inexorable force filled with violent, extremist and negligent air sweeping across the nation, turning this asset into a liability. The rise in street crimes, ‘radicalisation’ cases and depression are symptomatic of the disease that has been gloating on the decay of these young individuals who seem to be lost. There is a class spending more time in the virtual world of Facebook and Instagram and another one that dwells in a fool’s paradise constructed by the parochial ‘mullahs’ of our society. Both, squandering the sand while the hour-glass clock moves on.

In this era of ‘instant gratification’, as Simon Sinek, a motivational speaker and an author, puts it, we are becoming unproductive and have started to live in a phantasmagorical world. These devices that eat time and applications that run on dopamine, these habits that devour on our intellect and creativity, it has made us mentally hollow and physically weak. Hence, touting the 60 percent youth figure remains, lamentably, only a figure. The human made ‘seasons’ has usurped the habit of book-reading and ‘texting’ has taken over personal meetings. Our attention span is tattered with continuous chimes from our mobiles that, at times, make it difficult to listen to other with due consideration and attention. Violent Extremism is at its zenith. Intolerance walks unabashedly.

What is, then, the way to put a kibosh on such decadent trends? What is, then, the panacea to all these ills? Let me take you back to the Dark Ages of Europe. One can clearly sense the level of intellect in that era by the fact that people use to give money to the Church, for there existed a concept of trusteeship, wherein the Church would take money from the people and make their stay in the astral plane short or in some cases waive it off so that after they die they directly go to heaven. What changed this was the rise of ‘thinking’ and contemplation backed by the publication of Bible and writings of different philosophers like Voltaire. People were forced to think and then their circumstances turned topsy-turvy and viola we have the modern day Europe. The point has been made: Education. I am well aware of the hackneyed status of this proposal but as old as it may seem, if at any point in time, it is properly implemented in its true sense it can do wonders.

There is a need for a narrative, a mindset, an air filled with intellectual debates and brain-storming which is to be breathed in by every youngster. In this regard, PILDAT (Pakistan Institute of Legislation and Transparency) is stretching some limbs. I can tell as I was part of one of their initiative, Youth parliament of Punjab, the first ever batch. To not to give an impression of endorsement I will refrain from extoling the initiative however, the idea the concept behind it is immensely productive and can prove abundantly helpful in creating the aforesaid circumstances. Mr. Faheem Khan, Senior Projects Head of PILDAT very beautifully abridges the effect and purpose of such initiative. “The Youth Provincial Assembly Punjab is anew PILDAT initiative, which is patterned after the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. Its membership, 40 in total, is to be drawn from across all districts of Punjab. The specific objectives of the YPAP are to groom the leadership potential of the youth from Punjab to help them articulate their views on national and provincial policies in an informed and structured manner through dialogue and debates.”

It is not the first time that such a parliament was made. “We have been successfully running the Youth Parliament Pakistan on the national basis since 2007. In 2013, PILDAT established and facilitated the first-ever Youth Provincial Assembly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (YPA-KP) focused on engaging with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Youth in a healthy discourse and exposing them to democratic process and practices. Youth forms a very significant segment of Pakistani society. Over forty per cent of Pakistan’s population is18 years old or younger. Violent extremism in Pakistan has become organic feature of internal security environment of Pakistan mostly involving youth of the country.

More often than not, religious extremism alone is generally ascribed to turbulent environment of Pakistan. It indeed accounts for significant proportion of instability, yet in realty it is only a fractional component of the holistic setting which is beset by several forms of violence-prone under currents and trends.” He furthered his views on why such initiatives are important and how can they be helpful. “It is with this background that focus is laced on youth through a dedicated Youth Provincial Assembly Punjab to engage youth from the province to help rationalise their thought process about extremism and build their capacity to act as catalyst and initiate constructive change in their communities in particular.”

There is a saying ‘that we have to pull our own weight’. But for it to happen we also must have some strength and vigor as well. All over the world there are student leaders and entrepreneurs that contribute to the economy and image of the country. Here, due to an absence of any proper system, we see the metamorphosis of student leaders and unions into goons and pressure groups. But their extinction is not the solution. We have to create leaders from within us. We have to instill the youngsters the courage to take the gumption and help their people. We have to put them in a certain direction. When a flood comes the water destroys anything in its way. But the same water is the cause of ‘creation’ if passed through a dam. This is the concept of channelising the ‘energy’.

James Collins, a management guru, in his famous book-Built to Last, gives us the concept of Clock Builders and Time Tellers. Telling a fictional story he argues that if we consider a world where there is only one man that is able to tell the time correctly (Time Telling) everyone will look to him for it, what he can do is to build a clock tower (Clock-Builders) so that even after he dies everyone can learn the time by himself. Following the same analogy we face a perilous paucity of leadership. Even if there are some, the next ones in line to ascension are not that able. The habit of looking to others for help not only exists at personal/individual levels but also on government. We have to shed this dependence, muster up courage and by the use of intellectual and physical provisions build this nation, make it stand in the formation of the leading ones.

Hence, we need to build a society of Clock-Builders, these youngsters can be — should be — trained, honed, forged to be made into an asset that will, for centuries, continue to serve our country on social, political and economic fronts.

The writer covers International Political Economy, member of Huffington Post’s contributor platform, and a writer for Oilprice.com and Modern Diplomacy