Youth Engagement Policy
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭?
The youth engagement policy is one of the coercive and physical measures that can be applied without using force. Such actions can give dangerous results by neutralising the mindset of individuals for not paying attention to a greater and critical cause. It can also lead to a socioeconomic position where everyone believes in earning for himself individually, regardless of national interests and identity crisis. The opponents’ forces against the national liberation movements have always been on the page of using such tactics besides their kinetic operations. Such actions carry no violent practices but can lead to destruction more easily than military measures.
These actions can neutralise mindsets, engage people, and disrupt the attention of indigenous populations from the real cause. Such actions coercively manipulate the population toward superficial issues, not the primary. In engagements, people will be engaged in different activities like sports, social events, seminars, workshops, youth sessions and summits, contract jobs, self business entrepreneurship, and business startups. In these activities, a large number of the population will engage their interests and minds in those activities predominating over the very primary cause. The youth engagement is one of the forms of engagement policy of states to be dominate over the minds of young generation.
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭?
The engagement policy has been a key component in practicing the coercive approach against an established national liberation movement. Every coloniser has exercised this policy to engage the people and distract them from their primary cause. This policy has been practiced in Africa, South Africa, Ireland, India, Mozambique, Nigeria, Egypt, etc. Now the same policy is being implemented broadly in Balochistan to distract the masses and youths from their national liberation movement.
The colonial powers have practiced decoy politics, cultural imperialism and politics of distraction. They have brought policies of inclusion of the indigenous in the administrative sectors through subversive tools like sports, education, business, development, social welfare, etc. It is obvious that these are not mere engagements, but are politically driven approaches to counter any national liberation movement and the primary cause. This systematic approach is being applied across Balochistan, engaging a wide range of people. The Pakistani state is copying the previous colonial rulers in sustaining its colonisation of Balochistan.
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧?
The youth engagement policy as part of the counterinsurgency strategy is being implemented here in Balochistan. The policy was adopted in 1970, but it did not remain so effective until 2008. In 2008, the same was implemented with full force and remained intact until 2013. Now, it was again reimplemented with full effect in 2024, and is still being operated by the puppet government of Balochistan. This system seeks to deter the Baloch national liberation movement and to politically and socially distract people from the cause. In this policy, numbers of policies and engagement forms have been implemented.
These policies include youth development programs, skill developments, youth summits, literary festivals, workshops, business opportunities, business ideas, business startups, sports, camps, tours, social events, and more. Under the directions of Pakistan’s military, the puppet and so-called CM of Balochistan, through the Directorate of Youth Affairs, headed by puppet and so-called advisor Meena Majeed, has made multiple seminars, activities, and events engaging the youth of Balochistan. The prime targets of this policy has been the universities, colleges, schools and private academies.
𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫
These activities are focused to target the youths and manipulate them in disintegration from the national cause. The participants are threatened not to be part of any political activities, harassed and profiled, and at last they are given some bogus and misleading programs in a soft manner. Any student who asks questions about the real case, are later targeted and forcibly disappeared. Some cases have been surfaced where girls were harassed, blackmailed and abused by the organisers of such events.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐢𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲
The youth of Balochistan are very much conscious of the national liberation movement, so in order to politically distract, psychologically manipulate, and socially engage them to weaken the struggle for the independence of Balochistan—the primary cause. The three-day seminars, sports gala, business development programmes, social events, tours, and other activities have frequently been held across Balochistan to promote political distraction, cultural imperialism, and decoy politics. Such events and activities have been used and practiced as part of counterinsurgency efforts. These events and activities politically neutralise the youth of Balochistan with a soft method.
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
The Baloch youths must be aware of such colonial policies and do not participate such events or blindly believe those bogus claims. These activities are aimed to divert the youths from the Baloch national cause and forcibly or spuriously engage them towards colonial system. This colonial state’s face and nature has been revealed to us, every conscious mind can understand its planed policies. In order to resist these activities, the youths must know their roots level existence and bonds of Baloch nationalism. They must boycott and expose these activities and aware their circles on these policies.