Pakistan: Youth facing employment crisis amid growing economic challenges

The Planning Commission briefed the Senate Planning Committee and highlighted the economic challenges in Pakistan, including rising youth unemployment.

During the meeting, officials said that slow economic growth, rapidly increasing population and lack of employment opportunities were hampering development in Pakistan, ARY News reported.

Speaker Quratul Ain expressed concern over the alarming rate of population growth and stressed the need for immediate control measures.

The Planning Commission stressed that Pakistan's GDP growth rate was 3.5 percent, which was below the 7 percent needed for sustainable economic growth.

During the briefing, officials outlined a five-year plan focused on leveraging technology, promoting tourism and increasing agricultural productivity.

Foreign investments, administrative reforms in the energy sector, and industrial development were cited as crucial for Pakistan's economic stability, ARY News reported.

The plan also mentioned proposals to boost private sector investment and the SME sector, the report said. Officials stressed the importance of eradicating poverty, enhancing human resources and implementing institutional reforms to tackle Pakistan's economic and social challenges.

In early August, several members of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan organized a protest in Karachi to express their concern against rising inflation and unfair taxes imposed by the government. These protesters said that the skyrocketing inflation and high taxes are badly affecting the livelihood of their families.

Apart from this, he also talked about his financial difficulties. He claims that the government's policies have put him in a lot of trouble. He also criticized the government for imposing heavy taxes on essential goods and services, which has further increased the financial difficulties of the people.

Elaborating on the issue, a female protester said, “The only tragedy in Karachi is the heavy taxes and expensive electricity. We are now fed up with these unreasonable taxes and skyrocketing inflation and now we are forced to take to the streets and raise our voice. The government is the only one responsible for our movement.”

He said, “Earlier the bills used to come in hundreds, now they have become thousands of rupees and that too only because of inflation and taxes. We have also heard reports of people committing suicide due to poverty. There are households where there is lack of education for children and people are not able to get enough food to eat. People can now either afford the education of their children, or afford food for their family or pay their bills.”