By Sonya Rehman

The youth in Pakistan has been consistently lambasted for being far too apathetic regarding local politics, general elections and voting.
But towards the mid (and the end of) 2007, I sensed an awakening. And the month of November marked just that.
It was fascinating to witness young students (especially) speak of and discuss the current crisis that rolled itself out like an endless, black tongue (from the jaw of dictatorship) in early November.

Organizing rallies – whether great or small – local students and young professionals began getting far more ‘pro-active’ regarding national politics, rather than sitting pretty sermonizing, indulging in pseudo ‘couch politics’ and pretentious arm-chair activism.

And with the barrage of articles in Pakistan’s daily newspapers, commending the upsurge of Pakistani students at local (and international) colleges/universities, there were frequent pieces which either shrugged off the ‘movement’ with yawns and sardonic commentary, along with others; ripe in ridicule…equally belittling, painful and mocking.
What a shame. What sweeping statements, what accusations, and what a way to rope every student together, whilst labeling each as mindless, good-for-nothing rich kids.
I reject that completely. With regard to Lahore, many of my friends and acquaintances (in addition to their class-fellows) who organized and/or were part of the rallies and demonstrations – at the time – were anything but spoilt brats belonging to the ‘upper echelons of society’! What a load of bunkum.

Belonging to hardworking, self-made, and middle-class backgrounds a majority of these very students decided to wake up and get pro-active about the crisis rather than continuing an indifferent siesta in the sun. Therefore to criticize the youth now, after sincere efforts of peaceful activism post-November, is highly unfair.
That being stated, considering the awakening that has begun, the Pakistani youth, must vote come February 18th – it is imperative. 
The ‘Future Leaders of Pakistan’ (FLP), an organizational body comprising of students and young professionals (both at home and abroad), this year, has taken it upon itself to construct a website called ‘Parliament Watch’ (www.pw.org.pk), which provides researched data concerning each and every Pakistani candidate standing for elections this year.

States the website: “It is meant to promote an ‘informed’ voting behaviour by creating transparency of the election process. The goal of this project is to help voters choose the right candidates to avoid corruption, nepotism, and undemocratic ideals. It serves as a medium for the public to voice their opinions and help portray the candidates. This project offers objective reviews on candidates based on documentation of the Election Commission of Pakistan, Pakistani media, and publicly available documents and research material.”
FLP’s comprehensive ‘Parliament Watch’ project truly is a fantastic tool for anyone out there – young and old – who would like to make better, and perhaps more informed decisions concerning candidates in certain constituencies.
What’s interesting about FLP is that it comprises of young people, targeting the youth to not only get politically pro-active, but pro-active concerning almost every sphere of their lives and their surroundings.
From human rights to democracy building initiatives, to women’s rights and to art and culture – this once-fledgling organization, is fast becoming recognized among the youth for its drive and earnest ambition to bring about change at a local level, and to help alter Pakistan’s fragmented image abroad. 
Recently, this month on the 10th of January, the ‘Future Leaders of Pakistan’ organized a ‘Dialogue on Leadership’ workshop – in collaboration with AIESEC (the world’s biggest student organization) at LUMS.

With a panel of well-known experts that included; Asad Abidi (a dean and professor at LUMS who also teaches at UCLA), Souriya Anwar (the president of ‘SOS Villages’ in Pakistan), Aziz Suharwardy (the General Secretary of the ‘Defence Association Coordination Committee’ in Karachi and the chairman of the ‘Citizen’s Police Liaison Committee’), Nayyar Ali Shah (the founder and director of ‘National Grammar School’) and Yasmeen Aftab (a lawyer, writer and professor at Beaconhouse National University and Kinnaird College).
The workshop proved to be an absorbing one, as five students – selected earlier by FLP via an essay competition – each presented projects on leadership which later led to an interesting question and answer session between the panelists and the presenters.
The workshop was a commendable effort, and although the turnout of guests was not immense, the hall at LUMS was nearly filled to capacity.
Baby steps is what any new initiative is all about really, and now with FLP’s ‘Parliament Watch’ website fully functional, one hopes to see better and perhaps even bigger projects instigated by the organization in the years to come.
And in addition, the verve of the youth in the country, demonstrated clearly last year, must be continuous, unremitting, and never faltering.

To kick-start the wheels of change back into gear, one has to have a vision – always. A vision so internally inspiring and stimulating, that it can be manifested into the external world – set free, to take shape, and a life of its own.
Like a subtle, abstract flower bud, flung out into an open sky, that blooms once…and blooms always, in full splendour. Change comes – slowly – yet it comes. 

It is about time that this particular ‘awakening’ was encouraged rather than demeaned and stifled.