With the news of air-blue flight ED-202 getting crashed in Margallas, I felt grieved for the families of the travelers without realizing the impact of the tragedy on we as a nation till I received an email from PILDAT, revealing that six of the passengers were Youth Parliament Pakistan members, including the Youth Prime Minister, on board.
With a country like Pakistan, where we have been unable to develop tolerance and dignity in our governing systems, Youth Parliament Pakistan was launched by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency back in 2007. The incentive was to engage youth in Pakistan in healthy discourse and expose them to the democratic process and practices. With youth population more than 35% in Pakistan, the initiative to me was a source of change, discovering new talents in not so celebrated field of politics.
YPP selects its members on annual basis for five sessions held in Islamabad. Late members were flying to attend the last session of democratic year of YPP through Air-Blue, an official partner.
Hassan Javed, selected as Youth Prime Minister in the last session in May, hailed from Hyderabad, Sindh. Aged 26, he was working for the Royal Bank of Scotland, Karachi as a Team Head for Client Relationships for the Royal Preferred Banking (RPB) Department. He completed his MSc in Investment and Finance with Distinction from Queen Mary, University of London, UK. During his stay there, he participated in University of London Squash League. Mr. Javed secured Gold medals at Hyderabad B.I.S.E Inter-school Squash Tournament consecutively in 1998 & 1999. He believed in an independent and sovereign Foreign Policy, uniform Educational System and strong Justice System, reveals PILDAT through her e-mail to its subscribers.
He was to join Oxford University this fall. But life didn’t wait 😦
Syeda Rabab Zehra Naqvi, Youth Information Minister belonged to Karachi and was born on May 11, 1989. Having completed her GCE O Levels from the Mama Parsi School and GCE A Levels from the Karachi Grammar School, she was pursuing a BSc in Economics and Finance as an external student of the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE). During her school years, she held various leadership positions, including memberships in various student councils. She served as an elected office bearer of the Students’ Union in her college. Ms Naqvi interned at various institutions, including banks, media firms and NGOs, and planned to follow a career in national politics. Yes national politics! we lost one, willing to work for the country and come in to the field not because her ancestors were in there but, for a change for good.
Syed Shan-e-Hussain a distant cousin and fellow youth parliamentarian, said she was one of the best delegates in the youth parliament and was an all-rounder. “In the last session, she led a no-confidence motion against the youth parliament’s prime minister. The government changed and there had to be a new premier.” Rabab’s father Muhammad Murtaza had spent time with her the evening before. “She was really happy last night,” he said. “She kept on reading till late at night and came to me and asked to pray for her. I want to go to Islamabad and see my daughter or her body myself.”
Prem Chand from Sanghar, Sindh was the Youth Minister for Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs. He was born on April 03, 1984 and was studying for a Masters in Social Work at the University of Sindh. He was a social work student and performed numerous activities in this regard.
Bilal Jamaee, Youth Shadow Minister for Information was born on June 14, 1987 in Karachi. He was a 2nd Year student for Mass Communication at the University Of Karachi and served as the General Secretary of ‘Bazm-e-Adab’. He participated in numerous Debating Competitions and had written a number of stories for children’s magazines. Mr. Jamee worked for two years at Elite Pulishers as Asst. Manager. He was also the part of the recent Youth Parliament Study Visit to UK that took place from July 5-9, 2010.
Owais Bin Laiq, Member Youth Parliament Standing Committee on Information hailed from Karachi and was born on June 20, 1988. Following the completion of his GCE O and A Levels, he joined the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) for a bachelor degree in business administration. Passionately engaged in the field of media, he was the manager of the Media and Publication Society at the IBA (who recently organized I-MARK) and also won various contests, such as the National Samaa TV Documentary Competition. Mr. Laiq also notably interned at International Business Machine (IBM). Possessing a keen interest in travelling, he visited India, Iran, UAE, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Syed Arsalan Ahmed, also a Member Youth Parliament Standing Committee on Information hailed from Karachi. He completed his Matriculation with A-1 grade and his Intermediate in Pre-Engineering with an A grade. He then went on to complete his Bachelors in Textile Engineering from SFDAC University. Mr. Arsalan had been actively involved in debates both in his college and university life. He won several medals while representing his university in national debating events on several occasions.
Whatever the reasons may be of the tragic plane crash, one thing is obvious, we lost our spirit of today and the leaders for tomorrow. May their souls rest in peace, may we be able to follow their footsteps and try and create a difference for Pakistan, a difference for us.
Top: Hassan Javed Khan, Syeda Rabab Zehra Naqvi, Prem Chand, Bottom: Bilal Jamaee, Owais bin Laiq, Syed Arsalan Ahmad
Humkhayal 