Recently, First National Youth Summit Pakistan, organized by Centre for Sustainability and Research Practice (CSRP), University of Lahore (UoL) was held in Lahore on 12^th and 13^th February with the collaboration of Ministry of Youth and Sports, Government of Punjab, FM91, Punjab Commission on status of Women and National Youth Advocacy Network (NYAN) to unite participants from across the country on ‘Role of Youth in Policy-making’.

Incorporating the capability of youth in approach making field and engaging the essential qualifications of vote based system the center for dynamic culture and society. Political arrangement of Pakistan is containing subject culture where the part of youth is hard to be found in loose climate with extensive variety of conceivable outcomes. Luckily, this time the tide has been turned around by drawing in youth and joining open private association at the level of strategy making which will fill the accessible vacuum between general conclusion and legislative structure.

The summit which started with an appreciated note of  Naseem Khan Achakzai, Director NYSP and CSRP, alongside Minister for Sports and Youth, Jahangir Khanzada, Lt. General (Retd) Shafahat Shah, and was proceeded for two days. The selected candidates examined inventive thoughts with policy makers and pertinent partners. Additionally, youth investigated new avenues to impact the experts and implanted resolutions for the shrouded complexities of political framework. The summit was an annual gathering of 165 young people with equal representation of both males and females including the ethnic minorities. The National Youth Summit was divided in to four main pillars, tackling topics of interest to the youth of Pakistan, creating a platform to express views, present ideas and share their experiences.  The main whole titled as ‘Challenges faced by Youth: Means to overcome towards building a better future’ got speakers named as Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, Dr. Fouzia Waqar, Mr. Fashat and Mansoor Azam Qazi. Dr. Fouzia Waqar underlined the role of women in making establishments where the legislature has put 15% quota and examined the Fair Representation Act.The exchange recommended that women is the actual backbone which could assemble an extension to both thriving and poise of any country. The base 33% portrayal of women in the state mechanical assembly isn’t fundamental for state fabricating however SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) also. After that, Mansoor Azam Qazi delivered his motivational speech where he discussed the role of youth in policy making spectrum and some other ground realities. He suggested measures to overcome the problems being faced by young generation, in which he explored his life experiences. He also discussed “Paigham-e-Pakistan” which we can say a sort of fatwa sought by Government of  Pakistan to counter the prevailing narrative of terrorism. He recognized his significance as 1,800 religious scholars has signed it and is prepared by Islamic University Islamabad. In addition to that, he discussed Mashal Khan case and the court verdict along the role of youth in any platform. According to him, a youth is trustees of both prosperity and posterity if and only they decide to do so. No power on earth can undo the resolve of determined young minds. Initially day of summit finished with the recognition of  Dr. Asma Jahangir which strived for the duration of her life to put resolve for manage of law and popular government. Promote on, a supper was masterminded appoints by Sports and Youth Minister Jahanger Khanzada at the Swimming Pool Complex and it finished entertainingly with melodies of Patriotism, performed by the individuals from Music Society, UoL.

The second day of the summit began with the idea which the creating nations or third world infrequently takes after i.e., the hypothesis of Postmodernism. The acknowledgment of one’s subjective truths is the main route forward which must be recognize as well as spread too. Lamentably, the current learning is socially organized and our degrees are most appropriate for the reason. We will be called as proficient and instructed one we wind up ready to separate amongst humankind and forced esteems; generally the entire framework will act a place of cards. The main board was titled as ‘How about we settle on a truce: Ethics of Disagreement, Promoting Inclusion and Countering Violent Extremism in Youth.’ This a sort of fishbowl discussion where the speakers included Shaheryar Afridi, Romina Khursheed Alam, Nida Mahmood, Maria Iqbal while Naseem Khan Achakzai went about as an arbitrator. Shaheryar Afridi turned into the most unmistakable speaker of the session where his discourse got expansive number of adulation.

He underlined on his part not as a component of any political gathering but rather as a capable worldwide resident which constrained him to talk about an extensive variety of issues like that of fanaticism in youth, the westernized culture, the estimation of contradiction, part of religion in our lives, the motivation behind our instruction and qualities which we have long overlooked for occupied life. His comments were ‘Backpedal to your underlying foundations. You are not an inch not as much as some other individual of this world. What lacking is the need to upgrade our qualities, the historical backdrop of our progenitors, the engaged needs and regard which we have to indicate both for older folks and ladies.’ His end note said that we should not demonstrate pejorative conduct towards any human on the surface of earth regardless of what the shading, sexual orientation, instructive capability and religion of the individual is. The following session was about ‘Exchange among Generation’. Here again Shaheryar Afridi toss comprehensive light upon the issue. He shared his involvement in India where the culmination was hung on four issues i.e., Police changes, part of media, farming and Tourism. Tragically, the scope was not hung via web-based networking media while the opposition saw an exemplary execution of Pakistan. The second last session included Abu Bakar, Sofia Anjum, Rabia Akhtar, Asim Nawaz Abbasi while Iqra Shaukat went about as arbitrator. The title of the session was called as ‘Part of Women and Youth in accomplishing SDGs’. The board concentrated on the structure of SDGs and its noteworthiness in Pakistani diaspora with more centered significance around the ladies strengthening.

 The last session was tied in with ‘Rebranding Pakistan and the Role of Media’ where the introduction of Retd. Lt. Shhabat contributed numerous experiences on the subject and included complexities. The need of great importance is to comprehend legislative issues of story and aptitudes to produce counter-account on the off chance that we need to comprehend the worldwide discussion and universal governmental issues, the speaker of session accentuated the most. The Closing Ceremony of two days summit was held in University of Lahore where every one of the way of life of Pakistan were exhibited and a message of amicability and peace was sent to the country. On the Closing Remarks Chairman Board of Governors, UOL Awais Rauf stated, “we will keep on calling the adolescent broadly and Internationally finished such Platforms since they are the ones who will lead tomorrow.” Certificates were disseminated among the youthful members and after a cricket match to advance sound physical exercises among youth, the representatives sat off  for their goals. At the end of summit delegates from across the country thanked Govt of Punjab, CSRP and all other stake holders which arranged such a prestigious summit for the youth. Delegates also emphasized that such types of summits or events must be held on regular basis as they create harmony between the people of different cultures and ethnicities and of course between the provinces as well.

(Writer is M.Phil Fellow from Department of  Defence and Strategic Studies,Quaid-I-Azam University Islamabad )