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ell either leading to conflict and violence or opening the window to new opportunities it is critical to remember though that the existing youth bulge grew up in troubling times and is living in even more testing circumstances the elders of their society were not able to broaden their world view empower the young with the mental faculty to look for errors within and consequently be a part of the solution rather than becoming a part of the problem every mistake made was instantly blamed on a foreign conspiracy cementing the victim mentality the consequent identity crisis was never subjected to an intellectual and vibrant discourse to pave the way for an ideological coherence the youth is essentially a victim of societal trend that undermines young talent ignores its voice in national discourse and fails to understand that in their individual and collective lives they might not want the kind of future their elders may want them to have never being able to cultivate a role in their communities the youth has never had the opportunity to hone its leadership potential and become the future stakeholders in pakistan battling this clash of generations the youth of the country equipped with technological advancements is ready to break free and work towards a more prosperous and evolving society traveling across pakistan and working for the pakistan youth alliance has unveiled for this writer the struggle that pakistani youth are unknowingly engaged in this perhaps is the first step towards pakistan s empowered youth involved in the decision making process of its communities cities provinces and subsequently the country in many ways the youth of pakistan is in a desperate search for ways to improve the lives of 190 million people and find common ground between different segments of pakistani society the youth today is more vocal critical and aware of its circumstances such as debating false nationalism or questioning the role of intelligence agencies the youth has risen as an important player in pakistan and has played a pivotal role in the democratic history of pakistan swarming on to streets the youth today debates rigid theological interpretations and politicization of religion illustrating pluralistic tendencies in the masses scores of youth centric organizations have sprung up and most major political parties have vibrant youth wings that in 2010 and 2011 bravely battled adverse weather conditions to deliver relief to victims of floods the diversity that pakistan boasts of from karachi to khyber the resilience that the pakistani nation illustrates and the untested sea of youth potential that pakistan asserts makes one a strong believer in a better future of pakistan but this cannot be done in isolation the older generation needs to broaden opportunities for the young to develop the human capital through knowledge and advice by giving the youth an active role in the collective lives of neighborhoods communities and the society at large all generations can work together towards a more prosperous pakistan it is up to the current stakeholders of pakistan and the pakistani system whether it wants to engage with and consider this youth bulge a gift or turn its back on an opportunity that may transform into a curse ready to rear its ugly head sooner than later syed ali abbas zaidi is the founder of the pakistan youth alliance cec at khudi pakistan and community lead at hosh media posted in general utterances politics published work uncategorized tagged ali abbas zaidi conflicts pakistan youth pakistani youth pros and cons of youth bulge youth bulge in pakistan 2 comments pakistan the new radicals may 2 2012 by saaz cross posting documentary made on me pya by al jazeera english highlighting some of the work we do posted in from other blogs general utterances related to pya tv press interviews tagged activate al jazeera on pakistan counter extremism pakistan youth alliance peace activism street theater swat syed ali abbas zaidi taliban 2 comments how pakistan sees the united states february 8 2012 by saaz first published council on foreign relations website the following was written by syed ali abbas zaidi the founder of pakistan youth alliance and a member of khudi pakistan he tweets at ali_abbas_zaidi it was november 1979 anti american outrage filled the streets of pakistan several u s facilities were attacked across the country a mob in islamabad nearly burned the u s embassy to the ground the chant kill the american infidels echoed in the air in response to the siege of mecca s grand mosque islam s holiest site pakistani crowds angered by the unprecedented events unfolding in mecca concluded that such a plot could only be orchestrated by americans it turned out they were wrong the homegrown radical group in saudi arabia that led the bloody siege had no link with the united states while the u s pakistani relationship has experienced many changes in the decades since miscalculations of ground realities on both sides and anti american sentiment have remained the majority of people in pakistan admire the way americans live almost every pakistani family has a member settled in the united states but a glaring majority hates the impact of u s policies in pakistan the united states is considered by many to be the great satan every u s political move in pakistan is interpreted as an effort to destabilize pakistan or to fight a war against islam aggressive rhetoric on the pakistani side at times reflecting an unrealistic worldview and at times responding justifiably to belligerent u s action molds mass perceptions a few months ago i was in kot addu in the south of pakistan s punjab province filming recent flood damage in the area with a british filmmaker named oliver he was confronted by a local who after pushing oliver scanned the sky and shouted drone drone as if oliver s tripod and camera were the equipment that maneuvers drones bear in mind that south punjab has never had a drone attack and is very far from the area where drone attacks take place for me this incident highlights an important fact for u s pakistani relations the general public in pakistan cannot be expected to understand the complicated nature of the u s pakistan relationship when something goes wrong in pakistan the public relies on their interpretation of the events at face value in the case of drone attacks for example the united states must consider this effect and act more responsibly many of my american friends ask the same question why do they hate us by way of explanation the discourse rampant in pakistani streets is closest to what most muslim majority communities feel the invasion of iraq decades long support for oppressive governments bias in the israeli palestinian dispute the killing of thousands of innocent muslims recurring stories of torture and abuse of prisoners all have combined to generate suspicion of the united states within pakistan when pakistanis find evidence that the united states applies its values of democracy and human rights selectively depending on its interests the raymond davis episode and collateral damage from drone attacks being prime examples for many suspicion turns to hate finally solidifying this ill will is the lack of understanding between the two countries on a human level people to people civil society based contact and interaction is scarce and misconceptions are aided by a u s media that does not propagate alternative opinions from within u s society the result is the image of the united states as a monolithic society disagreement is a trait of democratic society and should be considered a strength rather than a weakness if on the ground dissent in the united states can be understood in pakistan and communication between the united states and regions that hate the united states is given importance in the international media the united states monolithic negative image will become less rampant in pakistan and other muslim majority communities this will not only benefit the image of the united states worldwide but will give conspiracy theorists reason to look within before pointing the finger at the united states posted in from other blogs politics published work tv press interviews tagged anti america ism in pakistan council on foreign relations pakistan usa relationship siege of mecca syed ali abbas zaidi 3 comments why activism still matters ceasefire magazine december 23 2011 by saaz first published ceasefire magazine uk the past decade has seen millions marching against the iraq invasion and other wars millions more helping and being helped as natural and man made disasters struck from japan to america just in 2011 alone much to the amazement of political and social scientists we witnessed the street revolutions of the arab spring a revolutionary wave of demonstrations not only toppled decades old dictatorships but have prompted a healthy culture of debate across the world these protests shared a number of common techniques of civil resistance through sustained campaigns involving strikes demonstrations marches and rallies as well as the use of social media to organise communicate and raise awareness in the face of state attempts at repression and media internet censorship the arab spring confirmed the significance of the power a common man or woman can possess dictionaries and historical narratives have undermined the usage of the word activism it is now usually understood to be intentional efforts to bring about social political economic religious or environmental change activities that are usually understood to be activist in nature include protests walks and demonstrations this is only partially correct activism is not necessarily about change for change s sake activism also exists to maintain and protect the valuable freedoms and rights secured through the sacrifices and resistance of those before us activism is not only rebellious protests challenging authority but a broad set of activities to meet clear ends and objectives to instigate a debate in society and therefore to continuously meet evolving circumstances as such it might not necessarily involve any protesting at all let us remember that not everything that calls itself activist is inherently positive in its nature many activist groups and organisations across the world work diligently towards outcomes that others would hardly describe as positive possibly due to the confusion that surrounds the word historians have not been able to produce a history of activism and yet shouldn t we start seeing our own common history of mankind as precisely that a history of activism after all human history and progress have been built in one way or other upon various types of activism all the way back to when the first human being stepped on earth every one of us is affected by the happenings around us from bad drainage across the street to extremist organisations propagating intolerance from domestic state policies that need to be opposed to imperial oppression that should be resisted everyone is affected some feel the need to do something and try to challenge inspire and lead whilst others convinced that one voice one action or one person are helpless against the enormity of the task resign themselves to do nothing instead the former are called activists the latter i call slacktivists with advances in telecommunications and internet technology we are more exposed to information than ever before with a sudden burst of social networking sites we are more powerful than ever before the ease with which digital activism can be the driving force behind tangible output is awe inspiring blogging is already the new face of media we all can be journalists and activists the only ingredient that distinguishes an activist from a slacktivist is the will and the desire to do it of course it s not all about marches and campaigns volunteer work for a social cause is an equally valid way to alleviate poverty fight corruption or to ensure equal rights of education and health facilities to all complaining about contemporary state of affairs is easy trying to work towards how you envision your society country or world ought to be is the real test as we move further and faster towards a more globalised world with technology that enables us to matter beyond our mere physical borders we as global citizens need to realise that we matter and activism in whatever form is the spark that leads to the streets to the change that we the global masses aspire towards some believe an activist is born and cannot be made i don t every man and woman is born an activist whether we admit it or not it is carved in our common history and whether we like or not it will define the future of our humanity syed ali abbas zaidi is featured in activate a new series on al jazeera english following activists posted in from other blogs general utterances published work related to pya tv press interviews tagged activism cease fire magazine social activism syed ali abbas zaidi youth activism leave a comment pakistan islam radicalisation published huffington post november 20 2011 by saaz first published and cross posted from huffington post i was in kasur a small town near lahore pakistan where the celebrated mystic poet bulleh shah is buried thousands gathered for the 254th anniversary of his death slogans chanted on that occasion would be branded blasphemous by extremist organizations in pakistan neither hindu nor muslim sacrificing pride let us sit together neither sunni nor shia let us walk the road of peace bulleh shah penned these verses challenging religious extremism and orthodoxy that plagued muslim society hundreds of years ago he was exiled from his home town and history has it he was denied a burial in muslim cemetery his advice has clearly gone unheeded as my country is still yet to find peace not even the founder of pakistan muhammad ali jinnah has been spared being labelled the great infidel incidentally the same ilk of religio political parties who now manipulate public discourse were at the forefront of using religious narrative for political point scoring before pakistan came into being 4 january 2011 is a day i cannot forget salmaan taseer the governor of pakistan s biggest province punjab was gunned down by his bodyguard he was killed for supporting a christian woman accused of insulting the prophet muhammad he was shot twenty six times for the entire week after the killing i was scared i don t remember being in that state of mind since benazir bhutto was assassinated it s not a very heartening sight to see fellow educated countrymen glorifying a murderer and justifying his actions based on ignorant rhetoric scores of fan pages popped up on facebook many of my friends changed their profile pictures to one of the killer mumtaz qadri exalting a murderer as hero very few turned out to pay homage to the slain governor in days to come as liberals arranged vigils in his remembrance yet thousands poured on...
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