ISLAMABAD: Representatives of 10 major political parties of the country on Thursday attended a discussion with the youth on how politicians can include the priorities and aspirations of the younger generations in their party manifestos for the 2018 general elections.

Titled Youth Dialogue with Political Parties on Inclusion of Youth Issues in Political Manifestos for 2018 Elections, the event was organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat).

In his welcome address, Pildat President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob said the youth constitute 31pc of Pakistan’s 207 million population and that approximately 46pc of the country’s electorate today consists of the youth.

“Effective political and civic participation by youth is a pre-requisite for successful peaceful and sustainable democracy and the effectiveness of sound democratic institutions in Pakistan,” he said.

“As parties prepare their 2018 election manifestos, it is important that they place special focus on the issues facing the youth of the country,” he said.

UNDP Country Director Ignacio Artaza said: “Pakistan currently has the largest number of young people ever recorded in its history. This dialogue is taking place at an important juncture in Pakistan’s history, as the nation prepares for its third consecutive general election.”

He said the three most important investments that can be made in the youth are quality education, gainful employment and meaningful engagement.

Youth representatives-including members of the Youth Parliament, young activists and entrepreneurs- identified issues of the revival of students’ unions, the lack of quality education, homelessness, sexual exploitation of children, lack of availability of clean drinking water, the introduction of a curriculum alongside religious education in madressahs, career counselling services in education institutions, counter terrorism, entrepreneurship opportunities and investments in scientific education, business and investment.

They also said that the youth bulge should not just be addressed in the sense of economic dividend but also as a democratic dividend which requires that parties promote, strengthen and defend the fundamental right to information and media.

PPP General Secretary Nayyar Bukhari emphasised on the need for the youth to hold parties to account on the implementation of their manifesto pledges using their right to vote in the upcoming general elections.

All parties agreed that the youth hold the key to the future of democratic governance in Pakistan and investments in human and youth development, education and vocational training and facilitation for entrepreneurship and employment should be included in the manifestos for the 2018 elections.

Representatives of PPP, JI and PML-Q underlined specific commitment for the youth in their upcoming 2018 election manifestos while the PTI said it will focus on human development first.

The one-day consultative policy dialogue was part of UNDP Pakistan’s national Youth Empowerment Program being implemented in Pakistan.

The lynchpin of UNDP’s youth-led development approach in Pakistan is to create platforms for meaningful interactions between young people and key policy actors such as government, parliament, media, academia, and civil society with the aim of promoting inclusion of their voices in the policymaking processes.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2018