With new beginnings and old endings: Stepping into a new decade – Happy New Year 2021

Today is the first day of a 365 pages dairy. I suggest, write a good one, that you may not be able to tear it again. The beginning of every successful person, brand, or idea is always amazing. It takes a huge heart to tell yourself that I am going to dive deeply in the ocean of failures. Failure is the way to success. Without failure, nothing gets to succeed.

The norms of our society are built by our elders in a way, where no one appreciates new idea, new business, and infect a new beginning of everything. We are always discriminated by our close members of our family and friends. We get appreciation when strangers appreciate us. I take these norms as a motivation but very sadly I would say that in reality, this is discouragement.

A decade before, I was a normal lad from a local village Sabir Abad in District Karak, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. I was enrolled at 8th grade in Cadet College Warsak, in the year 2009. I started learning new things which amazed me to think about myself and the existence of being here in this world. I never got the opportunity to interact boldly because of my results, I was an average student, or below average. Because of this I never had the opportunity to learn new things directly with a priority from teachers and staff. But I was learning it beside priorities and an indirect way from looking into my mates and juniors who were always the priority of the college staff.

My family, supported me financially but never supported me socially, emotionally and psychologically. Infect, I was discriminated all the times by my near family members. I always take discouragement as a motivation for myself. They wanted me to be an army officer but I got not-recommendation from the ISSB. I never felt why I had this blessing (rejection from Army) by the Allah Almighty.

After doing my Bachelors in Rural Development I started pursuing my further studies (MPhil) in Public Policy from Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). The first day was indeed very strange to me. I felt I am lacking knowledge from my classmates. But with the time, I felt, I have a prestigious value in my class and indeed in the institution. When I got a text message from Dr Nadeem ul Haque (a well-known Economist) Vice Chancellor of the university (PIDE) after my tweet. He offered me the position of Research Assistant with extreme respect. I know being RA is not something valuable but it is a wonderful beginning in the field of science and research.

After my constantly writing hobby and having half a decade experience of writing I was always thinking of doing something fruitful. The taste of which will be increasing with time. After having a deep interest in the discourse of policy debates. I come up with a new idea to initiate a Think Tank at the age of 25 years and with the education of MPhil. Normally, people initiate this after spending half of their life in the market. I might be in the list of very few intellectual to start this initiative at this stage.

I named this initiative “Centre for Policy Research (CPR)” which is a Non-Governmental Organization, doing independent research, analysis, debates and advisory. In CPR we aim to improve policymaking with local research-based advisory.

I have started a second initiative which is a project of CPR with the name “Policy Talks.” Policy Talks’ is a talk-show and a quarterly magazine highlighting policy issues and engaging policy discourse in a debate and a magazine. Policy Talks’ is broadcasting its policy debates in public policy, economic policy, education policy, health policy, social policy, foreign policy and cities policy with field experts on its YouTube Channel and publishing a quarterly e-magazine, available on the website of CPR (cpr.org.pk).

Why me at the age of 25?

I feel policies in Pakistan are not for people but for donors, industrialists, business people and in the own-interest of politicians. To engage youth in policy discourse with a debate and a quarterly magazine will develop the understandings of the masses about policy issues. Addressing policy issues in a policy-briefs by the youth will pressurize government to do reforms and productivity by making good policies.

This nation has a huge capital of youth with its 65% of the population. Engaging youth in productivity can take this nation to the life of prosperity. Being a student of Public Policy, I feel “policies for prosperity” should be the only interest in our governance.

The only way forward from the darkest days, the today’s of Pakistan, can be enlightened with the light of happiness and prosperity by bringing reforms with new policies.

I have titled this blog “With new beginnings and old endings: Stepping into a new decade.” Because it’s time to do something productive that mothers give your example to their children for centuries. It’s time to share this with all those around me, who always discriminate me. They shall read it and acknowledge that I am passionately waiting to fail but I will rise again, and again to continue till succeeding. I call it the old endings; I am transformed with a new beginning.

Happy New Year!

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