Declaring that it is “over” may sound bold and fashionable, but it is neither insight nor truth. It is a resignation presented as an analysis. To claim that Gen Z has abandoned patriotism, that the state has lost relevance, and that young Pakistanis are merely waiting for an exit misunderstands both this generation and the country it inhabits.
You argue that patriotism cannot be sold. On that point, there is agreement. But patriotism also does not evaporate simply because a generation demands accountability. Pakistan has not survived wars with India, decades of terrorism, economic shocks, and sustained external pressure because its people stopped believing. It survived because educated, vocal, and committed Pakistanis stepped forward when it mattered most.
The universities you dismiss as venues for forced patriotism are the same institutions that produced the officers, pilots, engineers, analysts, doctors, and planners who protected this country. Modern conflict is not won through emotional slogans or blind obedience. It is won through strategy, training, technology, and discipline. The minds that planned deterrence, operated aircraft, ran intelligence desks, and maintained strategic balance were trained in classrooms before they ever entered a battlefield. Many of those minds belong to Gen Z.
You present criticism as evidence of collapse, yet Pakistan’s recent movement toward economic stabilisation only began when reckless policies were challenged, and unsustainable narratives were rejected. Markets do not respond to silence. They respond to seriousness. Public pressure, debate, and resistance to populism forced course correction. That is not betrayal. That is civic responsibility.
Yes, there is tension between digital freedom and security, between regulation and innovation. That tension exists in every developing society navigating modern threats.
You speak of fear and suppressed voices, but conveniently ignore that this same generation is actively fighting Pakistan’s most dangerous internal enemy. The war against terrorism is not fought through speeches alone. It is fought through intelligence gathering, counter-radicalisation, cyber surveillance, and ground operations. Young officers and professionals are engaged in this struggle today. They are not spectators. They are participants, and many have paid with their lives.
The suggestion that Pakistan is globally dismissed also collapses under basic scrutiny. Pakistan continues to be treated as a serious security state, a nuclear power with strategic relevance. It remains central to regional stability calculations. Recognition as a hard state does not come from slogans or public relations. It comes from endurance, capacity, and institutional survival under pressure.
Yes, there is tension between digital freedom and security, between regulation and innovation. That tension exists in every developing society navigating modern threats. To frame this struggle as proof that the state has lost the youth is simplistic. States do not evolve without friction. Progress is rarely comfortable. The claim that Gen Z has mentally checked out is equally flawed. This generation is leading startups, powering the freelancing economy, serving in uniform, shaping public discourse, and representing Pakistan globally. Some will leave, as generations before them did. Many will stay, build, and defend. Wearing headphones does not cancel loyalty. Questioning authority does not erase commitment.
Patriotism has not died. It has matured. It no longer accepts hollow speeches or artificial pride, but it also refuses defeatism. Loving Pakistan today means demanding competence while standing firm when the country is tested.
Most importantly, no single individual gets to issue a verdict on behalf of an entire generation. Gen Z is not a monolith, and it certainly cannot be reduced to one opinion written from abroad. Observing Pakistan from a distance does not grant ownership over the voices of those living its realities every day. The young Pakistanis serving on borders, in institutions, and in communities inside the country have earned the right to define their own relationship with the state.
What is over is the illusion that criticism equals disloyalty.
What is not over is Pakistan.
Gen Z is not lost.
Gen Z is present, engaged, and fighting for this country.
And that is precisely why it is not over.
The writer is Digital Comms & PR Practitioner.