HYDERABAD: What is it that a Pakistani youngster wants to do for a living? He hankers after a government job, not in the private sector.

 

Business, too, doesn't interest him much. "Youngsters in my country tend to have a liking for government jobs, for these are secure," said Pervaiz Tufail, programme manager of AMAL Human Development Network, a Pakistan-based NGO. This is despite the fact that the Pervez Musharraf administration banned recruitments into government offices five years ago, said Tufail, now in Hyderabad to attend the Youth Employment Summit (YES), Hyderabad forum. "Youngsters in our country are now agitating against the government's job freeze," he said.

 

"Successive governments have neglected youth welfare activities, never promoted self-employment opportunities and have done little to attract foreign investments," he says. Tufail sees in Musharraf a messiah for the youth. "He is pro-active and wants to do good for the Pakistani youth. Soon after taking over the reins of government, he announced a National Youth Policy. With the assistance of the Unicef, a life skills training project has been initiated to impart skills-based training to youngsters," he says.

 

Now, several NGOs, under the banner of the YES Network, are working to change the youngsters' perception towards government jobs. "They are wasting away because of their frustration for not bagging lucrative and safe government jobs. This is also a reason for the spurt in terrorism in Pakistan, he explains. Koi bhi paise dey to kuch bhi karne ke liye tayar hai, many youngsters feel, he says.

 

Roughly 63 per cent of Pakistan's population comprises youngsters and above 50 per cent of them are unemployed, he added. Referring to the steps taken by India and Pakistan to maintain friendly relations, Tufail said that interaction and exchange of ideas between the people of the two nations and resumption of trade ties would create better employment opportunities.