In the arc of world history, young people have always played a dynamic and revolutionary role to create and build strong, prosperous, sustainable and vibrant societies. The pages of history are full with their glorious struggles in this regard. Over the past many years, in the USA, China, France, Spain, Mexico, Greece, Brazil, Iran and various parts of Africa and South Asia the world has experienced youth movements for the creation of better societies and civil liberties as well as equal rights. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Newsboys Strike of 1899, the Antiwar Movement in the 1960, the Boy Scouts Movement, 1908, the Edelweiss Pirates, 1936, the French Social Revolution of 1968 and the Velvet Revolution 1989 made new history on the part of youth participation. During the Pakistan Movement, the contribution of student organizations can’t be forgotten. The younger generations played an active role in the struggle for an independent land. In recognition of youth power and activism, the General Assembly in 1999 endorsed the recommendations made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth that 12 August be declared the International Youth Day. After that this International Youth Day (IYD) is being celebrated annually around the world. This day gives an opportunity to the youth to express their opinions and tell the world about their ambitions.
The period of life which the youth represent testifies to the vigour and creative energy that they possess. It is God gifted that’s why all the nations declare youth to be one of their precious assets. In our country, youth have also played a great role right from the beginning. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the outstanding leader and a visionary statesman, had also played a very important role from his younger age. At the young age of 16 he left for England and had himself enrolled at the Lincolns inn and began preparing for the Bar. He was called to the Bar at the young age of 21. As a barrister, Mohammad Ali Jinnah holds a unique place in the subcontinent. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had high hopes from the youths of this newly created country. In all of his important addresses to the students, he stressed upon youth’s vision in life. While addressing students in Lahore on October 31, 1947 he said: “Pakistan is proud of her youth, particularly the students who have always been in the forefront in the hour of trial and need. You are the nation’s leader, and you must fully equip yourself with discipline, education and training for the arduous task lying ahead of you. You should realize the magnitude of your responsibility and be ready to bear it.”
At present, Pakistan is luckily one of those countries that have the largest segment of youth population. According to the United Nations Population Fund Report 2017 and Human Development Report 2018, currently around 63 or 64 percent of the population of the country consists of youth. According to the reports Pakistan has more young people than it has ever had, and this trend is to continue until 2052. This is big news for our country because the youth have the power to transform a country’s future. Due to the younger population, Pakistan is safer than other countries as far as the Covid-19 pandemic is concerned. Italy and Spain have vanished due to older population, while death toll in USA, China, Russia and other countries runs into thousands but in Pakistan this number is quiet small.
Pakistani youth are innovative and competitive, and they are playing an active role in the nation-building activities. Their role in the war against terrorism has also been praised the world over. Malala Yousafzai and others of her age group not only bravely played their roles against terrorism but also stood shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces.
The young army officers are also fighting the war very graciously. They are sacrificing their lives for the defence of the Motherland. Successive governments in Pakistan have always given priority to the development of the country’s youth. Prime Minister Imran Khan has also been giving top priority to development of youth. After coming to power on 18 August 2018, he started many policies aimed at empowering the youth. He also included young people in his cabinet. He has not missed any opportunity of interacting with the youth. He even tells them what books to read to develop themselves. As the year 2020 came to an end the prime minister gave a message to the youth. Taking to the Instagram, the prime minister said: “Life goes in cycles, never in a straight line. Where one ends up depends upon how one copes with the high and low points. The ones who are successful never get demoralized by the bad times. Instead they analyze and learn from their mistakes and hence emerge stronger.”
To reap the benefits of the youth power the prime minister launched two historical programs in 2019 and 2020. In October 2019, the government launched the “Kamyab Jawaan Program” to provide financial and technical assistance to the youth of the country. Through this program one million jobs are being provided. Over 52 percent of Pakistani population will directly benefit from this loan scheme. The unemployed youth of Pakistan can get loan of up to Rs5 million in order to establish a business. Over 700,000 applications have been received so far under the “Kamyab Jawan Program”. On October 17, 2019 Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the first phase of the program. Rs100 billion have been allocated for youth loans. Out of the total amount, Rs25bn have been earmarked for women. Loans up to Rs100,000 will be interest free, while loans in two other categories will be concessionary. One million young people will be facilitated under the program. This program will also arrange internships through which 25000 young people will be connected with industries. 500 labs will also be established in seminaries. This is the first government which has taken such initiatives to impart science education to the student of the religious education institutions. Disbursement of loans under “Kamyab Jawaan Program” has also been started from December 2019.
On November 4, 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan launched another historical “Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship Program” in Islamabad. Over 200,000 scholarships will be provided to students throughout the country over four years. This program is a historic shift in the government scholarship policy. Half of the program’s beneficiaries are girls hailing from low income groups while 2 percent of the scholarship has been reserved for students with special needs. 50,000 scholarships will be given each year to the students of 119 public sector universities across the country including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan gave 50,000 need based “Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarships” to the first batch of the deserving students on March 2, 2020. Prime Minister Imran Khan has also called youth to be part of his nationwide Tiger Force to help the government agencies achieve their mission. The government is determined that the young people will prove that the PM was right in trusting them.
(The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the newspaper)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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