BY
Rana Irfan Rafi
Every person dreams of studying, earning a degree and landing a job to secure their future. Every parent has an aspiration to see their children established in positions standing independently and enjoying a comfortable life. The harsh reality in Pakistan today tells us a different heartbreaking story. If you walk down the streets of any major city you will witness a quite crisis. Young men and women holding files under their arms run from one office to another searching desperately for a simple chance to earn an honest living. Getting a job in Pakistan has turned into one of the stressful and discouraging battle a person can ever face.
Studying in Pakistan is never easy. Getting a proper education feels like climbing a steep mountain because of money problems, high fees, and broken schools.by the time many young people finally finish university, they are already twenty -eight years old. Unfortunately, their daily struggle does not stop there. A hard new phase begins right away for them. They must take small temporary jobs just to help their families put food on the table while they keep searching for a real career. When they finally feel ready to enter the professional world, they hit a massive wall; the government age limit. Public sector jobs strictly stop anyone who is over thirty or thirty-five years old. Some people say this rule makes sense because it lets workers serve for decades before retirement.in a rich and growing country ,that might work but Pakistan is facing deep economic trouble right now.it is completely unfair to punish a person who is thirty six just because poverty forced them to study slow. This rule, which was made for simple office management, is now destroying the middle class, it breaks the heart of talented youth and pushes them into deep hopelessness in their own country. The worst part of this problem is the huge double standard. look at the people in the power at the top. While a citizen who is thirty-eight is told they have crossed their expiry date and can’t get a government job. Politicians play by totally different rules. Politicians can run for office, sit in assemblies. And run important ministries even if they are seventy, eighty or older. They make laws deep into their twilight years. Yet, a young person in their thirties is somehow considered too old to serve the very same nation. This hypocrisy hurts everyone and needs to change before it ruins another generation of bright minds who just want a fair chance to be a workerlike and build a decent future for all hard-working families today.
This hypocrisy is not limited to politicians it runs deep inside the bureaucracy as well. An elite group of government officials completes a full career retirement with a handsome government pension paid for by the taxes of ordinary citizens and immediately lands another high-paying job on a government board, commission or special project. These individuals draw a monthly salary on top of their retirement pension. Meanwhile a regular hardworking employee inside the departments spends years sacrificing their youth hoping for fair promotion only to see their hard work ignored because retired bosses and politically connected seniors are brought back on lucrative contracts. When a single person occupies high-level posts sits on various boards and manages several departments at the same time. They are practically locking out dozens of qualified young people who are sitting at home unemployed. This is not poor management; it is a cruel joke played on common citizens.
Fixing this crisis requires bold and compassionate policymaking. First, we must immediately. Relax the rigid age limit for government jobs to accommodate those whose educational journey was delayed by economic hardships. Second, the toxic culture of rehiring officials and letting individuals hold multiple offices simultaneously must come to an end. Every office should have one leader, opening space for freshmen. Furthermore, policymakers should consider introducing a reduction in the official retirement age. This thoughtful adjustment would gracefully create room for a wave of qualified professionals allowing senior workers to transition into a well-earned peaceful retirement while opening essential doors for energetic young minds
when hard work brings nothing and the elite holds all power. Youth lose hope and leave their homeland. We must break these unfair walls and stop the double standard; we need a fair country where every honest worker can achieve their dreams. Our youth can’t sit quietly and wait for miracle. True change is never given as a gift by those in charge. The youth must raise their voices now. Stop waiting for others to fix this mess, stand up. Speak out and demand a better future for everyone right here today.
Author is associated with SDPI
