Classrooms to battlegrounds

Recent violent clashes at the University of Karachi, sparked by "heated words" and "aggressive staring", are a reflection of the deep sickness fostered by political parties that have structured their youth wings not as nurseries for future leaders, but as gangs vying for power through intimidation and force. This violence is the latest chapter of a dark history that began in the 1970s, when consciously armed and supported student groups transformed campuses into battlegrounds. The infamous "Thunder Squad" of the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) was a calculated innovation to thrash rivals, a legacy that has seen guns replace hockey sticks.

Political parties have a duty to groom the next generation of leaders, to teach them the arts of debate, policy and compromise. Instead, the parties in Pakistan have structured their youth wings to act like gangs, teaching them that power flows from the barrel of a gun or the swing of a baton. It is also worth noting that the 1984 ban on student unions by General Ziaul Haq not only failed to curb campus violence, but actually stripped the last semblance of youth wings being noble endeavours and deprived the country of genuine future leaders, allowing extremism to flourish.

Today, the result is a generation with alarmingly low tolerance, students who "do not accept each other", and prolonged eye contact can trigger a brawl. This environment is the direct consequence of political parties using young people as pawns. Globally, when political leaders manipulate youth, they create a disruptive force to secure their political objectives.

From such a base, the youth wings of Pakistani parties have mostly transitioned into precisely that - militant groups enjoying a sense of impunity, their actions divorced from the ideals of political discourse and service. If Pakistan is to secure a peaceful future, it must demand that political parties immediately dismantle these violent structures and replace them with genuine, democratic student unions.