Pakistan faces a “demographic disaster” if its leaders fail to invest in a youth population that is disturbingly cynical about democracy, has more faith in the military and is resentful of Western interference, according to a study published yesterday.
The report, commissioned by the British Council, says the nuclear-armed country is at a critical point, with its population forecast to swell by 85 million from its current 180 million over the next two decades.
“Pakistan is at a crossroads,” said David Steven, an academic who helped write the report. “It can harness the energy of that generation and collect a demographic dividend. But if they fail to get jobs and are poorly educated, it faces a demographic disaster.”
Pakistan has never had such a high proportion of young adults: Half of its population are aged under 20, with two-thirds still to reach their 30th birthday. But they are deeply divided about how the country should be run.
Only a third believe democracy is the best system of governance, one-third support Shariah law, while 7 percent think dictatorship is a good idea.
Fasi Zaka, a radio DJ and commentator who helped launch the report, called it a snapshot of a “lost generation.”
“They don’t believe in anything firmly. Maybe they want Shariah law, maybe they want democracy. It’s all over the place. But despite this there’s a lot of patriotism. So it’s not a lost cause.” Summing up the contradictions, he said young Pakistanis “don’t like this country, but they love it.”
The report makes sobering reading for the country’s civilian leaders. Of the 1,200 young people surveyed for the report’s opinion poll, 60 percent said they had faith in the military as an institution while only one in 10 voted for Afghan President Asif Ali Zardari’s beleaguered government.
Several respondents complained of endemic corruption, an issue that has dogged Zardari.
“Democracy or dictatorship — it doesn’t affect me. I get paid regardless of who is in power,” said Mian Muhammad Bilal, a 26-year-old civil servant.
Zardari is under heavy pressure with plunging ratings, a hostile media and persistent rumors of an impending “soft” military coup to displace him from the presidency.
Media adviser Farahnaz Ispahani said the cynicism about democracy was a product of Pakistan’s history of dictatorship.
“Only if a civilian government is allowed to finish its term will the youth trust in democracy,” she said.
Steven, a research fellow at New York University, warned that Pakistan risked creating a giant under-class more prone to extremism and violence.
“The country is going through a massive transformation in a global economy where resources are more scarce. It’s a big challenge,” he said.
The findings were a “wake-up” call for western donors who only see Pakistan through the prism of terrorism, he said.
“The US spent US$12.3 billion in Pakistan between 2002 and 2008, of which 70 percent went to the military. But it has not generated any security,” Steven said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese