Pakistan 2024: Democracy, Youth Migration, and Economic Challenges

This parting year, 2024, was filled with mixed news, events, happenings and achievements. We as a nation lost some gems and struggled with our economy and democracy in 2024. We saw an increase in dictatorial roles, punitive measures, iron claw dealing of state and amendments to the constitution that practically made our judiciary a vessel and subsidiary of the “state”. We might not come back from this ever again. We slipped 11 places in 2024 from a “flawed democracy” to an “authoritarian regime”. The Pakistan press freedom index has decreased by 2 points to 152 positions out of 181 countries, with freedom of expression further constrained. We have discovered 64 new polio cases in 2024, a disease that is currently only present in either Afghanistan or Pakistan. Regarding the Human Development Index (HDI), we are at 164 out of 191 in the United Nations Development Programme’s 2023/2024. As per the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2024, Pakistan is ranked 145th out of 146, second only to Sudan.

Although the drummers are out there painting a positive picture of 2024, we failed to secure decent, respectable and satisfactory results for much of the population. 2.6 million people fell below the poverty line in 2024 alone, bringing the total to 39.4% or 95 million people. All these people earn a little more than 2 USD a day, while the top 1% has enriched themselves further.

Youth migration in 2024 has also multiplied, with youth frustrated with the economic crisis decided to leave. Over 1.62 million Pakistanis immigrated to the West for better opportunities; this number was 900,000 in 2023. This is the story of Pakistan, with the highest number of young population who are eager to explore the avenues to earn better but are frustrated with the government policies, economic landscape, freedom of expression, arbitrary detentions, terrorism, state repression and other hurdles. A country with 64% of the population under 30 was experiencing internet outages with VPN bans, firewalls and slower internet traffic that cost the economy 300 million USD.

This grim landscape poses a serious threat to national security, which most people in higher echelons of power either do not understand or don’t have the mental acumen to comprehend. A population that is eager and full of potential has limited space, opportunities, and avenues and will resort to activities that can seriously harm them. A youth frustrated with the economic downturn will find opportunities in areas where risk is higher with quick reward, in other words, Crime. When they see criminals getting concessions, state protocols, and resource access while those in the lower strata are getting crumbs only, they will resort to activities detrimental to the social fabric.

Do we have solutions for these problems? Pakistan’s history has a definite pattern of repeating itself like a palindrome. However, no one is willing to take responsibility for correcting it. The establishment interference in civil, democratic, foreign and cultural aspects of life is normalised and accepted as a fact. Journalists don’t ask questions, politicians don’t have the guts to resist, and the civilian machinery is too compromised to resist. The result is a tamed country with men with little concern for what will happen. The political landscape is filled with opportunists, businessmen, and chauvinists, while the country needs statesmen. A complicit 4th pillar of democracy is crumbling under its myopic actors that speak and act on behalf of power corridors rather than speaking for the people they should feel for.

Has something positive also happened in the country? From the general perspective, nothing but some things have improved over the years, either as a result of long-term policies or due to some sincere quarters working as they should.

The layman, with a little common sense, can suggest significant improvements for Pakistan course correction. Here are a few things that must be done to improve the overall situation in Pakistan:

• Get the military out of politics and politics out of the military. It has been a consistent source of many evils, frequent martial laws, constitutional crises and abrogations.
• Get the military establishment to focus on their professional duties rather than entangling themselves in domestic affairs and business ventures. The military is one of the country’s largest business conglomerates and is omnipresent in agribusiness, banking, FMGC, fertiliser manufacturing, and real estate. They and the politicians must know that their mandate is not to control the supply and demand of public goods but to protect borders.

• Get free and fair elections that are paramount for the overall democratic health of Pakistan. The most recent General Election in Pakistan was not even close to independence, where one particular party was deliberately targeted in collaboration with weak character people in the judiciary. This is alarming.
• Free and uninterrupted access to the Internet for youth will increase domestic opportunities that will reduce stress and anxiety in a large portion of youth. A stressed and unemployed youth is more likely to become a national security threat than the outside actors.
• Infrastructure should be in place to support women in the public services domain. Women make up 50% of the population. Depriving them of opportunities means running with one leg tied, not getting us far.
• Restructuring the constitution and correcting political blunders and mistakes made over time to appease specific quarters. The most recent example is the passage of the 26th Amendment, which is a looming threat to the overall democratic norms in Pakistan.
• End of political victimisation just because one party doesn’t like the other one. This can only be done through free and fair elections and an independent judiciary. The role of media (print and electronic ) is crucial as it will help people make informed decisions rather than siding. There is a need to change the opinion-based news system to the original idea of unbiased news. There is no need for opinion makers and analysts who are historically politically biased.