12th August: International Youth Day
When something is truly precious and our future is closely tied to it, we are willing to make every possible effort and sacrifice to protect it from accidents, threats, and other dangers. We do so because we know that this valuable asset is the foundation of a secure and promising future. The same principle applies to every nation: young people are its most valuable asset. With their energy, fresh ideas, enthusiasm, determination, creativity, and willingness to embrace innovation, young people have the ability to accelerate the journey of national development and transform challenges into opportunities. This is why parents, families, communities, and nations place their hopes and aspirations in their youth. No one would want this precious national asset to be neglected, misdirected, or influenced by harmful forces, ultimately destroying both their own prospects and the hopes of those who believe in them. For every country, investing in and protecting its youth must therefore remain a national priority. What is needed is a collective commitment to nurture, guide, empower, and protect young people, whether at the individual, community, or national level. This can only be achieved when society comes together with a shared sense of responsibility to help young people realize their potential and protect them from the complex challenges of the modern world. Youth are equally important to every segment of society, and nurturing this precious human resource requires sustained attention, patience, investment, and collective effort. In Pakistan, young people constitute a significant proportion of the population, making their well-being, development, and meaningful participation essential to the country’s future.
For decades, Pakistan has faced the challenges of extremism, violent behaviour, terrorism, and other forms of instability. Although significant efforts have been made to address these threats, they continue to evolve and sometimes reappear in new and more sophisticated forms. These challenges can contribute to unemployment, lack of opportunities, social exclusion, frustration, and a sense of deprivation, leaving some young people vulnerable to destructive influences. Protecting young people from such risks is therefore not merely a social responsibility; it is a vital national objective. It requires all available resources to be mobilized through a strong, coordinated, and sustainable strategy that addresses both the immediate risks and the underlying causes of vulnerability.
Extremist and terrorist elements often attempt to influence young minds through fabricated narratives, false promises, manipulation, and carefully designed propaganda. At times, religion, sectarian or linguistic differences, feelings of deprivation, tribal or ethnic identities, and regional grievances are exploited to create mistrust and division. Young people may also be exposed to narratives that distort history, malign state institutions, promote hostility toward other communities, spread misinformation and rumours, or offer financial incentives to lure them into criminal and violent activities. The deliberate targeting of educational institutions, places of worship, public facilities, economic activities, and community structures further undermines social harmony and development. Attempts to discourage education, promote smuggling and other criminal activities, encourage drug abuse, undermine investment, and spread false information through social media are equally damaging to society. At the heart of these efforts is often an attempt to manipulate young people and exploit their energy for destructive purposes.
Young people are, however, not merely the leaders of tomorrow; they are partners in building the Pakistan of today. When their energy, creativity, modern outlook, and determination are channelled in a positive direction, they can become powerful agents of economic growth, social stability, intellectual progress, peace, and national cohesion. Providing young people with quality education, technical and vocational training, decent employment opportunities, sports, literature, culture, research, entrepreneurship, and creative platforms should therefore be treated as a national investment rather than an optional undertaking.
It is equally important to create an environment in which young people can express their views responsibly, respect differences of opinion, and embrace dialogue, reason, tolerance, and the rule of law. In the digital age, social media and online platforms have a profound influence on attitudes and perceptions. Young people must therefore be equipped with strong digital and media literacy skills so that they can identify misinformation, hate speech, deceptive propaganda, and extremist narratives and respond to them with knowledge and responsibility. Parents, teachers, religious and community leaders, media organizations, civil society, the private sector, and state institutions all have a role to play in creating an enabling environment where young people choose hope over despair, purpose over frustration, and compassion and tolerance over hatred and division.
Young people should also be encouraged to understand their civic responsibilities and actively participate in initiatives promoting peace, interfaith harmony, national unity, community service, and social development. If we trust our youth, invest in their education and skills, provide them with meaningful opportunities, guide them with wisdom, and protect them from harmful influences, Pakistan’s young generation can become the strongest force for a peaceful, resilient, prosperous, and progressive Pakistan. A nation that invests in its youth is investing in its own future and a nation that empowers its youth empowers its future.