Peace is a precondition for economic growth, business and the ambitions of young people, Dr Aamer Abdullah told a workshop in Peshawar. Dr Aamer, who advises the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governor on education and social welfare, said stable conditions allow trade, jobs and livelihoods to grow. He was the chief guest on the first day of a two-day Youth Engagement Workshop, which brought together participants from the merged districts.
Youth as leaders today
He said young people are not only the future of the country but also leaders in the present, whose ideas and suggestions can support social reform. To make the point, he cited a scholar's comparison: a community forced to drink from a stagnant pond places its hope in young people to find a clean, fresh spring. He said the image showed the intellectual capacity and responsibility of young people in tackling social problems.
Listening to the tribal districts
According to Dr Aamer, the event aimed to hear the problems faced by young people in tribal districts, their proposed solutions and their ideas for building peace. He said youth know local needs and ground realities well, so their input could help frame effective policies on peace and development. Recalling his earlier term in the caretaker administration, he said meetings with youth, elders and officials in tribal areas taught him more than his scholarly and field work on the region, an experience he called immensely valuable.
Next steps and speakers
Dr Aamer said the workshop gave policymakers a chance to learn from young people's experience, and he hoped the working groups would produce practical recommendations. He added that he would personally review the proposals so that policy can be shaped in line with them. The event was run by the KP Centre for Countering Violent Extremism, with the SSDO and the British High Commission as partners.
Other speakers on the first day included Abidullah Kakakhel, the secretary for higher education; Prof Dr Qibla Ayaz, a scholar with past service on the Federal Shariat Court and Council of Islamic Ideology; Dr Qasim Khan, director of the KP Counter Violent Extremism Authority; Additional Director General Kashif Irshad; and Kausar Abbas, who leads the Sustainable Social Development Organization.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Peshawar mein KP ke adviser Dr Aamer Abdullah ne kaha ke aman se karobar, rozgar aur naujawanon ke khwab aage barhte hain. Yeh do roza workshop merged districts ke naujawanon ke masail aur tajveezat sunne ke liye tha. Workshop mein bane working groups ki sifarishat woh khud dekhenge. Aam logon ke liye iska matlab hai ke aman ki policy mein local naujawanon ki rai ko ahmiyat mil rahi hai.
