Youth urge leftist parties to unite to fight problems

Participants at “Let’s Imagine Pakistan” called for left wing parties to unite against problem.

ISLAMABAD:

Participants at a concluding session of a four-day conference titled “Let’s Imagine Pakistan” called for all left wing parties to unite against problems affecting public at large.

The last session of the conference titled “Presenting the Future - Youth Visions and Actions for Social-Political Change” was held on Saturday at a local hotel.

The conference aimed to to help the leaders of tomorrow envision their idea of Pakistan in 2020, and develop strategies to reach these ideals through social and political actions.

The participants and speakers agreed on working together in order to achieve their mutual vision for Pakistan in 2020. As a result, the participants came up with innovative ideas and projects, such as the formation of an Umbrella Youth Alliance in order to streamline their impact.

They was also in agreement on the need for an objective analysis of the Pakistani society, to help organisations work collectively towards the same goal.

The speakers were of the view that today’s youth is being affected by extremism. They said the ideal Pakistan, regardless of organisational background, converges on justice, rule of law, peace, economic security, secularism and human rights for all regardless of sexual orientation, gender, religion or ethnic affiliation.

Speaking on the occasion Rubina Bugti, representative of Labor Party from Balochistan, said it is unfortunate that so called guardians of justice are responsible for the injustices and mass killings in the province. She accentuated her point by quoting an example of five women who were buried alive in Balochistan.

Ambreen, representing Youth of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, said that it is imperative to change oneself for the effect to last in long run. Sharing personal experiences, renowned political activists said high qualifications and an elite background are not pre-requisites to become politically active.

They demanded that the defence budget be reduced and education’s budget increased. The conference was organized by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Pakistan, a German non-governmental organization.





Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2011.