Youth in any country is regarded as future growth potential and states engage youth in policy formation and development programs as it could lead to a robust socio-economic revolution. In Pakistan, more than 65% of the total population falls in this category. Some experts even believe that Pakistan is currently facing the phenomenon of a youth bulge (overpopulation of the youth) in the context of its rapid population growth rate of 2% annually. In this backdrop, the importance of youth and the state engagement with them cannot be overemphasized. In first world countries, governments put special focus on developing youth as a vital national asset, but unfortunately, in 3rd world countries, youth suffer the consequences of policies which are often made without any input from them. Pakistani youth, for a longer period of time, has been suffering the same fate since last 3 decades as foreign and security policies developed during the end of last century failed to appreciate the possible negative outcome for the country’s youth.
The War on terror and violence in KP’s tribal districts –previously known as FATA –made matters worse. It lured youth towards violence in mass numbers over the year. Even after the elimination of local bastions of TTP, this menace continues. The Pakistan Army has been engaging with youth in the region for durable peace and stability. Most noticeable among these efforts were the creating of rehabilitation centers for youth where experts psychologists, along with their teams, worked tirelessly to eliminate toxicity from these minds that were indoctrinated by TTP under strong religious pretexts which for a Muslim young man are too much to break away from. It was first such effort in country’s history and there was no existing template to follow. Still, the Pakistan Army’s efforts paid off as many young souls were saved from completely consumed by darkness.
Similarly, various programs for this rehabilitated and common local youth were initiated under which many vocational institutes were established to impart technical training among local youth to bring them back from violent tendencies. But these programs are only beginning of a long journey to fully integrate tribal youth in Pakistani society as creating job opportunities still remains a challenge in few cases. There is a peril of these young frustrated minds returning to violence.
This is a proven fact that militancy and violence in society is directly linked with poverty. So there remains a need to engage young minds so that their participation in the social and economic context can be ensured so that they can play a role in poverty reduction and stabilize the local environment. As it was also noted in the Pakistan National Youth Policy 2008, according to which ‘Pakistan’s population profile is changing. The proportion of the working age population is increasing and offering a window of opportunity to turn this demographic transition into a “demographic dividend”. This “demographic dividend” provides a great opportunity to steer the energies of youth for Pakistan’s economic growth and well-being’. Social and economic engagements for creating more opportunities for youth is the responsibility of provincial and federal governments but unfortunately, progress on this front remains far from satisfactory and now experts are warning that the state can face a far worse situation it already faced in FATA during the war on terror if this youth bulge is not dealt with responsibly. They have warned that Pakistan is already facing many sociopolitical problems. Issues of unemployment and a lack of access to resources due to overpopulation can further result in frustrated and violent youth groups across the country, and especially in Newly Merged Districts (NMDs).
It is high time for KP and Islamabad governments to ensure positive engagement with youth, particularly in rural areas where opportunities are limited for them. Many INGOs have initiated youth engagement programs in Pakistani universities, including those located in KP, these engagement programs are indeed a positive and welcome initiative as they provide local youth to represent their view points on various social and political issues. These engagements must be encouraged but at the same time must be monitored closely as well, considering the recent trend of recruitment of educated youth by hostile entities. Furthermore, a comprehensive plan is required to fully achieve the targets of 2008’s youth policy. This is a must-do job else our youth will remain exposed to all sorts of hostile propaganda and in the absence of socio-economic opportunities, they can be enthralled by such physiological tactics as has happened earlier as well.
