Of youth and politics: ‘Political will missing in restoring peace’

Youth from Korangi, Sultanabad and Lyari participated in an event organised by the KYI.

KARACHI: Youngsters of Karachi believe political will can restore peace in the city. They also stressed the need to hold more educational programmes so that the youth could engage in positive activities.

Youth from three areas of the city — Korangi, Sultanabad and Lyari — participated in an event organised by the Karachi Youth Initiative (KYI) organised in collaboration with the Chanan Development Association at Sheraton Hotel on Thursday. The youngsters had a chance to interact with the city administration officials and political leadership, including Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sharmila Farooqi, Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Faisal Subzwari and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Naz Baloch. The speakers said that they were trying to bring back peace in the city but it was a challenging task as mafias have developed strong roots in several areas.

“It is not as easy as it is believed to be. The mafias are very strong and they are definitely offered support by some elements,” said Subzwari, adding that they were supporting the ongoing operation in the city and were committed to restoring peace.

“Why are you not sincere about announcing a monitoring team for the operation?” asked a participant.  To this question, Farooqi replied, “We can’t. It is the federal government’s responsibility.”

PTI’s Baloch said, “We will stage a sit-in and mass protest against the prevailing law and order situation in Lyari.” She stressed the need for all political parties to make efforts to eliminate the criminals.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2013.