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UNDP, s NDHR 2017 report and Dilemma of Youth of Pakistan



Amazing tweets and posts on social media are coming from the educated people especially from youth social media accounts about UNDP “Pakistan National Human Development Report PKNDHR 2017”. I would like to ask a simple question from the educated people that Did you read this report? I am sure that the answer would be “No”. 

“This latest report has extremely important findings about Pakistani youth in particular. It would be unfortunate to drag this report into politics and make it controversial and some media Channels try their best to make controversies by using it for one party as publishing a report on comparison of four provinces from UNDP’s YDI report on exactly the day which Imran Khan had chosen to announce his 100-day programme was a work of art and pre-plan”.

The purpose of every tweet and post is criticism on PTI lead Government in KP while comparing the KP Government with Punjab and Sindh. 

I would like to share with you the story of UNDP report. This report has been launched on Wednesday, 2 May 2018 at PNCA Islamabad in a grand gathering of people where different people from all over the country and abroad including some diplomats and ambassadors participated. Interestingly, I along with my MS Sociology Class fellows from International Islamic University Islamabad also attended the ceremony on behalf of our department. UNDP volunteers distributed the whole report as well as the summary and CD drive of the report among all the participants and I got as well the copy and other material of the report. I will not go in detail of the event but will directly come to the main points of the report.

In the first page of the report, it is mentioned that “NOTE: the data and survey results and the whole report is completed in 2016.
The Chair of the advisory council of this report is Mr Ahsan Iqbal of PMLN


Reports is based on survey which is conducted before 2015, mostly from 2013 to 2015 and even before 2013.

I will not go in further detail of the report as it is very long report consisting of 204 pages, but will ask from our educated youth that 

Did you read the report and saw the ratio of youth in Pakistan in that report?

Did you read the unemployment ratio in Pakistan in that report?

There is mentioned in FACT SHEET of the report that “Only 14 out of 195 countries spend less on education than Pakistan”. What does it mean? Would you like to ask from the Government of Pakistan that why there is less budget for education? 

“The point of education I raised for our youth because if the government spent money on quality education then you wouldn’t been blindly follow these sorts of biased news. The quality education will open eyes and mind to think, observe, read and speak critically but your government do not want to do so as the youth of Pakistan will wake up and will make difficult the life of these politicians”.

There are some points in the reports which need critical lenses beyond political affiliation to understand the situation of Pakistan in current post modern era as the good news is that all provinces of Pakistan saw an improvement in their Human Development Index (HDI). However, the pace of the improvement is less than what all of us would like to see or expected.

Now I will raise some points about the criticism on KP Government for lacking of development in the province as compare to Punjab and Sindh.

From federal Ministers to CM Punjab and all opposition of PTI criticize the KP Government only because of PTI as to take an edge in the upcoming 2018 General Election.

Let me ask some questions.

First, the report is based on data obtained before 2015 or even prior to that i.e. 2005-2015. PTI made Government in KP in May 2013 and that was their first Government in the province. So I will ask from the educated youth and other people that how you compare the 2-year performance of a party with those who are ruling the country, Punjab as well as Sindh from last two-three decades. 

If you look to the report, then you would appreciate the performance of the Government of that province (KP) that has been destroyed during the war on terror from the last 8 to 10 years.

In addition to that this report had been almost completed in 2016 while the name given to this report is UDHR 2017. Then anyone can tell me that why the report has been launched in May 2018?

Further, If the head of this report is Federal Minister and belongs to PMLN then did you believe that the report will expose the bad performance of PMLN in Punjab?

Furthermore, the most important one is that “Did you know that the PKNHDR report that has been making rounds on the social media and some media channel on the same day on which PTI Chairman Imran Khan had chosen to announce his 100-day programme

The actual report was released on May 2, 2018. They waited 18 days; to do it at the right time and then on that when was a work of art and pre-plan.

The question raised above need answers and we should think about it.

The basic purpose of this long piece of writing is to ask from the Youth of Pakistan that wake up from the long sleeping dreams. According to this report, the ratio of the youth is 64% in Pakistan. Ask from your governments (Federal, Provincial and District) your MNAs and MPAs that what you have done for the youth of this country. That politicians indulge you in the bloody politics and put a bandage on your eyes and used you for their politics. I am not against of youth participation in politics but my appeal is to be rational and critical and doesn’t be blind followers to defend the good and bad acts of your party.

To conclude this, I will suggest the youth of the country that if you believe on the UNDP report then read it well and ask from your governments what the hell is going on in our country with so many resources in the current postmodern era. Wake up and make your unity beyond political affiliation and brighten your future as 64% youth means a lot.

                                     Lal Zaman: Twitter  https://twitter.com/LalZaman77 
The writer is MS Scholar of Sociology at International Islamic University Islamabad.


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