The youth must cultivate, practice and nurture critical thinking skills for meaningful participation in the democratic discourse and decision making processes. They should challenge the stereotypes, not believe in everything being told to them - as it is - and must verify the authenticity through critical thinking and research, and not just relying upon a singular source of information to shape their opinions. Only by resorting to these modern perspectives, can they strengthen democracy. These were the notions expressed by Mr. Farid Ullah Khan, Chairman, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission, during the twenty-first round of Ulasi Taroon, Youth Capacity Building Workshops organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) at and in collaboration with Department of Shariah and Law, Islamia College University, Peshawar. He said that the political parties should practice democracy even within their internal affairs; promoting the democratic norms and values indiscriminately where the politics of inheritance ought to be discouraged. While it’s important to refer to the past to derive critical lessons and inform future decision making, the youth must make their valuable contributions in the present and look forward to the future to harness the potential opportunities. As the past is beyond control and cannot be changed, so instead of just complaining about it, start making the most out of present to ensure a connected future. The youth must endeavor to wrestle with the dilemmas facing Pakistan and strive to resolve them where possible. At the same time, they should conserve their optimism and energies by practicing gratitude, participation in the community development and the virtues of tolerance and patience. Optimism demands looking up for potential opportunities that come along with a problem. There is always a good reason in every bad situation and things happening to you. Mr. Muhammad Waqar Azeem, a Police Services of Pakistan officer posted...

Baloch leaders representing the Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pakistan National Party (PNP), and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) on Tuesday had a rare heart-to-heart exchange of views with Chinese academia and experts on the Balochistan situation as well the status of CPEC related projects in the province. The delegation comprised of Senator Dr. Jehanzeb Jamaldini (Secretary General, BNP), Agha Hassan Baloch (MNA, BNP), Mir Naseebullah Khan Marri (Balochistan Health Minister), Dr. Ishaq Baloch (NP), and Syed Ehsan Shah (former Minister of Finance, PNP). Chen Shaoxin, Secretary General of the host China Association for Friendship (CAF), welcomed the Baloch leaders, and said their presence underlined China’s desire to pursue peace and development in an inclusive and collaborative way. The delegation highlighted issues such as exclusion of Baloch input from decision-making and key positions, pockets of economic backwardness, and a dismal state of infrastructure. They also underscored the need for taking Baloch leadership as well as tribal cultural sensitivities into consideration. They emphasized greater transparency and inclusion of community in all Balochistan-based CPEC projects. An inclusive approach, they said, will also mitigate security issues through community buy-in. They added that dedicated education scholarships, skill development opportunities, and job quota for Baloch youth are some of the instruments that can help neutralize misperceptions surrounding CPEC. Finally, the Baloch leaders informed the Chinese hosts that criticism of China or opposition to CPEC by some radical groups does not represent the general socio-political sentiment of Baloch people. Baloch are liberal and peaceful people. But if the youth do not get jobs it will be easy for religious radicals elements and the enemies of Pakistan to recruit them for anti-state activities, said Jamaldini. Mistrusts and complaints come from a long history of negligence and exclusion as main...

“It is very heartening as well as my first time to be sitting across an assembly of youth from across the border. I will definitely report to the parliament about this and ask them to create a parliamentary caucus for Pak-Afghan relations,” Member of Parliament Ms. Mehnas Akbar Aziz stated this while speaking to a gathering of Pakistani and Afghan youth alongside high-level distinguished speakers from both countries at the Youth Summit organized by Afghan Studies Center in Islamabad today. The summit focused on connecting youth beyond borders to work for a better tomorrow and was attended by a high-profile 13 member visiting Afghan delegation and young representatives from High Peace Council, Kabul. Former member of Afghan Parliament Khalid Pashtoon, heading a visiting high-profile Afghan delegation also present, expressed that he was delighted to see the youth of Pakistan and Afghanistan together under one roof. “This opens the roads for consensus towards a better and progressive future. Both countries were very close few decades ago, then bad things happened and there emerged a space between us two neighbors. Though, we miss those old days, when we used to be like twin brothers. However, I hope that once peace prevails in Afghanistan in the context of Doha talks, the two nations would get closer once again. Most of the issues between Kabul and Islamabad are linked with security; once the security issue is resolved in the bigger picture, everything else will fall in place,” he said, giving hope the youngsters present. Pashtoon further stated that, in recent years, a lot has been done regarding bilateral relations. “We have come a long way. One such example is of the opening of the Torkham border round the clock. It will help facilitate cross-border mobility and will also increase the trade volume. The surge in trade will result in increased profits across the border; reinforcing peace and better bilateral relation. It is our responsibility to give the youth a...

Hate does not end hate, only love can. Revenge cannot end revenge, only forgiveness can. War cannot end war, only peace can. Let us rise above hate and revenge, Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Member National Assembly of Pakistan Andleeb Abbas quoted Martin Luther King’s words at a high-level Pakistan-Afghanistan Track 1.5/II dialogue Beyond Boundaries convened by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in Islamabad, urging both sides to focus on the positives first to mitigate negativity. She was of the opinion that people to people linkages across the border are significantly good but political will has been missing for long at the state level. Though, she optimistically stated that the power of the people is always more than the people in power. Hence, at the people’s level, there must be continued efforts towards peace and development. A 13-member high-level Afghan delegation, headed by former Member of Afghan Parliament Khalid Pashtoon, landed in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss bilateral relations with the Pakistani delegation of 13 members in a bid to devise recommendations to present to their governments. Khalid Pashtoon urged all the delegates to stop digging into the blame game of the past and invited both sides to think of solutions of peaceful coexistence for the current and future generations. Afghan Senator and Member of Afghanistan Cricket Board, Gulalai Noor Safi, stated that to further improve bilateral relations, security issues should not be allowed to impact the flow of trade, as seen in border closures, as it makes both the Pakistani and Afghan traders suffer and, consequently, makes the people in general bear the brunt. Complementing her view, Mehnaz Akbar, Member of National Assembly of Pakistan, suggested to create a bilateral parliamentary group to continue debating issues that affect people on both sides. Member of High Peace Council Laila Jaffari, from the Afghan delegation, affirmed the need to push...