Change agent: ‘Youth needs school uniforms, not suicide jackets’

Parliamentarians urge including young men and women in mainstream politics.

Pakistan is yours and we value you, said National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq at a seminar titled “Youth: Future Agents of Change or Guardians of Establishment?” here on Thursday.

The event was organized by Member National Assembly (MNA) Asiya Nasir in collaboration with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), said a press release.

The speaker lauding the role of KAS in helping parliamentarians interact with each other said there are around 88 friendship groups in the Parliament facilitating exchange visits.

Earlier, former National Assembly deputy speaker Faisal Karim Kundi said “the youth of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and FATA do not need suicide jackets but school uniforms.”

Kundi who had also been chief patron of the Youth Parliament, recalled that in the previous assembly, at least 95 of the 342 lawmakers were young parliamentarians.

Describing the Pak-German Friendship Group as “vibrant”, KAS Resident Representative Ronny Heine said, “Youth can play an important role in conflict prevention, peace building and national development.”

MNA Asiya Nasir said, “Youth has the power to act as a catalyst of change.”

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA Ali Muhammad Khan in his speech highlighted corruption and its causes, effects and solution in the light of religion.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Maryam Aurangzeb presented her party’s perspective on youth and various initiatives taken by the government.

In the session on “Youth in Pakistan and their attitude towards politics, democracy and political involvement”, former MNA Yasmeen Rehman said Pakistan is a conflict-hit area where opportunities for youth are nonexistent.

Pakistan Peoples’ Party MNA Imran Leghari in his talk on “Youth and Democracy: Myth or Reality” emphasised reforms within political parties. “The youth of Pakistan want genuine democracy and transparency in the system”, Laghari declared.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement member Rehan Hashmi observed that youth who were diverted to extremism have become a threat to the nation, while the educated ones are contributing to the development of nation.

“I firmly believe that now the mindset is changing about participation of youth in the mainstream politics,” Hashmi said while citing his own example.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2014.