By IANS
Jammu : Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling alliance partner Peoples Democratic Party Monday came out with a policy for the youth, which focuses on education, employment and empowerment.
Documented in a pamphlet and circulated at a one-day state level youth convention of the party here in the presence of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, former chief minister and party patron, the policy stated that the youth are feeling “neglected” and that they are special because of the trials and tribulations they have undergone during the past two decades of turmoil in the state.
“The state’s youth must now be brought on the forefront of change and innovation, and the PDP has taken a modest initiative on this direction,” Sayeed declared after unveiling the policy document “Youth Development Policy” Monday morning.
It is for the first time that a political party has made a youth policy, addressing the issues concerning the youth who grew up during militancy.
The policy has declared 2008 as the Year of the Youth in Jammu and Kashmir and called for developing the state as a special education zone and youth leadership at the block level.
The PDP has promised that it would devise the youth employment strategy, and employment insurance for the jobless youth. It pledged to create a “youth opportunity fund”, organize regional youth conclaves across the state, and reorient the state’s educational system.
It would also provide opportunities for youth to be active partners in the decision-making, build leadership skills of the youth, link youth to planning and policy efforts, and also allow them to identify their own interests.
Sayeed said the state’s future political structure must be more inclusive of the youth, who can become the key agents for peace and development.
He said there has been a complete lack of concern about what could be done to improve the lives and the prospects of the state’s young population.
“I think the issues concerning the youth are not even on the agenda of any political party,” he said, adding that it is in this context that the PDP is coming forward with a comprehensive youth development policy.