Daily Times

Back in May, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) brought forth an encyclopaedic National Human Development Report (NHDR) wherein it contended that the youth-below the age of 30-comprises 64 per cent of Pakistan’s entire population, out of which those in the age bracket of 15 and 29 years comprise 29 per cent. These figures, besides being the highest ever transcribed in its history, make us the second youngest country in South Asia.

It all sounds very enrapturing, and rightly so, because, in barer words, we are potentially the country, provided it is earnestly taken into consideration, which can provide the world with the workhorses it direly needs. The role that China has so masterfully played over the past few decades could be ours in the next decade if we don’t let this unrivalled asset be brushed under the carpet.

Be that as it may, it is our ill luck that our history is not a bystander of enough steps taken to try and avoid this demographic vantage turning into a demographic calamity. The prospects, however, seem promising. It’s highly likely the future would have in store, not unemployment and poverty for the youth, but employment, opportunities and progress.

The newly-as of today- established National Youth Council is a commendable step, for there wasn’t much done hitherto. It purports to ensure “meaningful participation of young people;” inclusion to help them work with people from diverse “backgrounds, cultures and ages” and equality that, albeit sounding by and large quixotic, is the need of the hour. Although it is a decision that we all ought to welcome passionately, there’s a great deal about it that raises eyebrows.

The council houses people of influence from the fields of sports, education, economy, arts and culture. This shall only mean that the insights offered and the decisions taken from its floor would blanket a wide range of issues. Some of the most famous members include Mahira Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Muniba Mazari and Sana Mir.

Their inclusion in the council, unfortunately, is fundamentally flawed on the account of a myriad of reasons. Firstly, they are not familiar with the youth development and thereby, assuredly not cognisant of the problems that the youth are confronted with.

Being a celebrity or a sports star shouldn’t have been a befitting criterion for selecting members for the council supposed to represent the lion’s share of this country’s population.

Their ages, which are 34, 35, 32 and 33 respectively, give rise to uncountable murmurs-the second reason why their selection is flawed to the absolute core. The age of youth set in Pakistan is 15 to 29. It’s evident they aren’t young enough to fall therein.

Among them, the youngest, Muniba Mazari is also three years older than the maximum age for a person to be considered part of the youth. Ironically, Shahid Afridi too was offered to become a part of the council, but he declined.

Celebrity Youth Council would be but a meeting place for celebrities and sports stars

It has become all the more evident that the office of the PM intends not to help bring to the fore the youth, which despite immense potential hasn’t yet been provided with any chance to articulate their talent to the world. In lieu, the council has become a bunch of famous people whose work isn’t concealed, and need not be introduced to the world.

The youth of the ex-FATA has, as has been seen, remained unrepresented for decades on end. Although the shibboleths chanted by the PTM- portraying itself as a champion of the rights of those from erstwhile areas- have been time and again blatantly sidelined by the PTI, there isn’t enough the latter has done either. Some apologists have contended that the youth of ex-FATA-whose name has now changed after its merger to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa- hasn’t been discriminated against and that they have been given opportunities equal to those given to the youth of the rest of the country.

This, as appalling as it sounds, is also awfully inaccurate. The Celebrity Youth Council, which would be but a meeting place for celebrities and sports stars, doesn’t have any representation whatsoever from PATA. This would further aggravate the feelings of the youth of PATA, and their trust would surely set about lessening in the government, which had the uplift of youth as one of its core agendas.

Selecting famous people to be a part of the council would help gain representation on a larger scale and attract attention. It seems as if this is exactly what Imran Khan, the patron-in-chief of the council, wanted.

That said, some inclusions to the council are indeed laudable. Marvia Malik, who holds the distinction of being the country’s first she-male anchor; Shazia Batool, an artist hailing from Baluchistan and Major Tanvir Shafi’s appointments promise the insertion that ought not to be snubbed.

But that’s not reason enough to justify the selection of overaged-as per the age bracket for Pakistani youth- celebrities in the council. This decision needs to be reviewed in earnest with either the council abolished and established anew or the celebrities and sports stars selected ousted. This was a chance for the government to give opportunities to the young and dynamic people who are actually aware of the problems of the youth and have been working for their uplift regardless of the circumstances.

It’s always better late than never. The government still has enough time on his hands to allow the name of the council to be reflected in its members, which will, in return, affect rather massively the decisions taken therein.

Uzair Salman is working as a Research Officer at Emerging Policymakers’ Institute (EPI)-an Islamabad based youth-led think tank