The Youth Dilemma

Sidelining Imran Khan may sent across a wrong message to the young people of the country

Has anyone ever thought that the young people, who support Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, will not support the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) or any other major mainstream party in any case?

This politically conscious youth is both a great asset and a challenge for the country.

In the past, casting the vote was the job of the elders of the house, but now the youth has gained political awareness, and the majority of them are standing behind Imran Khan, whether we like it or not.

What to do with this force? Will it die on its own if, metaphorically speaking, Imran Khan is sent back to the pavilion tomorrow on some legal pretext?

It is certain that the rest of the PTI leadership, which was part of mainstream political parties before joining Imran and which mostly belongs to the political elite, will not be able to hold on to this youth.

So where will these young people go if Imran Khan disappears from the scene? Will they become indifferent to politics? At least, as far as I know, this will never happen.

I do criticize Imran Khan on many issues, but still, he is the only leader who has connected to the youth in all four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir – meaning the entire federation.

I may always mourn that the biggest “crime” of Imran Khan is that instead of building his party on a democratic basis, he has left the youth at the mercy of the traditional politicians. His dependence on the so-called electable candidates is a negation of political ideals which he has always preached. If he had brought democracy into his own party, held fair elections, and made decisions on merit within the party, then there would have been no possibility of the disintegration of the party after him.

However, there is no use crying over spilled milk.

If Imran Khan cannot think about his party, what will he think about the youth? The question is whether the country’s policymakers will also leave this youth at the mercy of the situation?

I fear that alienated from the prevailing political parties, our youngsters may easily fall into the hands of the enemies of Pakistan if they are not engaged. The emotional youth will not even know that they are acting as pawns on the enemy’s chessboard.

The social media videos of a retired serviceman is a case in point. That person out of an alleged love for Imran Khan is now engaged in spreading hate against the Pakistan Army.  He also continues to spread the Indian narrative against Pakistan without thinking about its impact and consequences.

Just yesterday, a fire broke out in an oil depot near Gwadar. Those Indian social media accounts that lie and exaggerate while reporting terror incidents in Balochistan called it an attack by terrorists and the retired army officer also spread the same narrative in his v-log.

After a suicide attack that took place in North Waziristan, the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and anti-Pakistan Afghans made exaggerated claims about the damage caused to Pakistan.

The former servicemen claimed in his v-log that the army was lying and the statistics reported by anti-Pakistan journalists were correct.

However, my own sources also confirmed that the figures given by the army were correct. My question is if a former serviceman can spread the enemy’s propaganda and make statements against his own army then what will happen to the youth which is exposed to psychological warfare and does not even know the basics of psychological operations (Psy-Ops).

Unfortunately, the young people have also been used as cannon fodder to spread anti-army narrative. Now the question is whether to allow these raw minds to become a completely anti-army political force, or to find a way to channel their political consciousness and emotions in a positive direction?

Those planning to remove Imran Khan from the scene should keep this in mind that Da’ish, Al-Qaeda, the TTP, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and other terrorist groups are waiting in ambush to attract and recruit the youth in their ranks and files.

Young people, who are dissatisfied with dynastic politics, and the anti-people political system become easy prey to terrorist organizations, especially when there is no other alternative.

Unfortunately, the alternative that emerged in April 2022, ie, the coalition government of 13 parties, is, for sure not the choice of the youth. Most of the youth turned to the PTI because of their hatred for or alienation with the mainstream political parties rather than their love for Imran Khan.

The way these parties came into power and busied themselves in quashing investigations and court cases against their ace leaders rather than thinking about the country and the way they made the country’s top accountability watchdog –the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) – a toothless body show their actual priorities and agenda.

Inflation is increasing by the day; unemployment is on the rise, and financial mismanagement of the country is at its worst. All this is directly affecting the youth. In these circumstances, it will be an injustice to the country to leave the highly agitated youth at the mercy of the circumstances.

The coalition government in the Centre is planning to use the system to remove Imran Khan from the political scene. However, any such attempt will prove disastrous for the country.

Can self-centered politicians be allowed to do so? In the past, the establishment interfered in political affairs because the ruling parties manipulated the system to their advantage.

Pakistan’s social fabric will get damaged if the PDM government does not give its opponents a level playing field. Sanity must prevail and abuse of the system must be stopped.