The children of Pakistan share their vision for the country and how they feel it should be governed. Here are the lofty aspirations of our readers who are ready to be the leaders of tomorrow and solve all our problems. Read on to find out what they plan to do if they become the Prime Minister of Pakistan for a day!

If I get the chance to be the PM for one day, I will give cheques of Rs20,000 to every non-government employee. This will make people’s life a bit more stable, and I will win their hearts. And then I will establish a political party and people will support me and chose me as the PM.

After being the PM, I will easily solve all the problems of the state like corruption, education, terrorism and others.

Jahanzaib Brohi,

16 years, Hyderabad

My foremost priority would be women’s rights in Pakistan, as it’s important to elevate the status of women. I would strive for the rights of deprived females and frame policies that aim to forge girls’ independence and education. I will fight against heinous practices like forced marriages, acid attacks and harassment.

Aqsa Hatim Ali,

15 years, Sukkur

I will help the poor by giving them jobs, houses and money. I will take care of them.

Muhammad Ubaish Jatoi,

8 years, Hyderabad

First I would be thankful to God for providing me with the opportunity. Then I will order the finance minister to get money out of the reserves and distribute among all the poor and needy people of the country so that after that day there would be no poor person begging for money on the roads.

Noya Muiz,

7 years, Islamabad

I would visit different areas of Pakistan to develop unity, faith and discipline because our biggest problem is that we are not united. Our nation is divided into small groups and our enemies benefit greatly from it. If Pakistanis will have these qualities, no one can stop us from being the best nation.

Areej Zahra,

11 years, Karachi

I would make education free and build educational institutes all over the country to ensure quality education. I would make education compulsory up to high school. I would hire PhD teachers, especially for pre-primary and primary classes, for a stronger base.

I will make sure that educational institutes enable a child to think critically, give them high moral values and develop intellectual competence in them.

Tanveer Alam Siddiqui,

10 years, Karachi

I will make Pakistan clean and green, develop new roads, remove encroachment, give jobs to the poor and give scholarships to their children. I will give homes to the homeless and support the Kashmiris and ban drugs.

Ibad-ur-Rehman Jatoi,

10 years, Hyderabad

I will ensure the implementation of rules regarding cleanliness. My order will be to plant trees and flowers everywhere. In short, my effort will be to make Pakistan a beautiful green country.

Mariam Ahmad,

10 years, Islamabad

My foremost aim will be to spread education because education is directly proportional to peace as it has been said by leaders that education is the most powerful weapon which can be used to change the world.

Kapil Kumar,

14 years, Hyderabad

My sole aim will be to eradicate corruption. Money leads to greed and greed brings out the worst in people. Hence I would replace all the manual work that can cause corruption with computers that could not be hacked and that would take care of all the money. I would also install biometric attendance and cameras in government school, colleges, hospitals and other workplaces to ensure that people do the work they have been appointed to do.

Sana Soomro,

15 years,

My first priority would be to make a system of education that is imparted to all citizens of Pakistan without discrimination, particularly to women.

Ayesha Shafi,

14 years, Lahore

I will plant trees, order dustbins to be placed everywhere with labels of ‘Biodegradable’ and ‘Non-Biodegradable’ on them so that people can throw garbage in separate dustbins.

Sarah Rasheed,

11 years, Karachi

If I were the prime minister of Pakistan for a day I would remove all the problems in our educational system and obstacles facing the new generation.

Afaq Wazir,

14 years, Bannu

I will ensure that all bad or corrupt people are put behind bars for their wrong doings and are punished.

Jagrati Kumari,

11 years, Karachi

I will utilise taxpayer’s money on schemes that are beneficial to public across the country. I will eradicate corruption and maintain peace in the country.

Salman Khan Soomro,

17 years, Larkana

My focus will be the welfare of people. I will increase the budget for education, and especially improve the primary schools in rural areas. Also, I will increase the number of basic health units, with there being at least one good hospital in each district.

M. Saad Asad,

13 years, Mirpur, Azad Kashmir

My first priority will be to give equal rights to every individual in our country. Everyone should have the right of freedom of speech, religion and education.

Nafay Najeeb,

12 years, Lahore

I would invite my opposing political parties to be friendly with me, as well as the next prime minister, and urge them to make Pakistan a strong, happy and peaceful place together, without any fights or conflicts.

Aisha Amjad,

13 years, Peshawar

My utmost priority will be to spread education. I would open schools for the poor children and kids begging in the streets.

Mahnoor Ilyas,

12 years, Karachi

I will build schools, colleges and universities, and provide free education, along with books, uniforms and bags, to the poor. Education is the right of every individual so I will spread education in the neglected areas of Pakistan.

Abdul Rehman Ahmed,

13 years, Lahore

I would work for the improvement of human rights and keep all the Pakistani children enrolled in schools because they are the future of Pakistan.

Siraj Gul,

12 years, Turbat

I will eradicate unemployment because it is the major cause of the downfall of any nation. Poverty often makes people earn money in a wrong way, therefore, they rob or steal. If employed, people will not move in the wrong direction and they will also send their kids to schools as they will be able to pay the fee.

Alishba Naeem,

14 years, Karachi

Karachi is the beautiful city but highly neglected. The foremost thing I would do would be to establish a good city management system, which will take the responsibility of cleaning Karachi on daily basis.

Aisha,

16 years, Karachi

First, I would order houses to be built for the homeless and I would also provide them with good food, clean water and free education. To check their health, I would send highly qualified doctors on monthly basis at their doorstep.

Zoya Shahzad,

11 years, Lahore

I would enhance the education system so that poor people can also have access to it. Education is important for every child and our founder, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, also wished Pakistan to become one of the most educated countries in the world.

Fatima Azfar,

10 years, Karachi

I would help the poor, I would make medical treatment free for the poor. I would also provide cooked food and money to them. For students, I would arrange entertainment and educational tours for free. This will bring a wave of happiness in the country.

Raeha Fatima,

12 years, Faisalabad

I would first make fair policies that will not disadvantage anyone. The policies will not increase my personal business or give me advantage by any means. Instead, these policies will decrease the rates of the properties and the builders will be scrutinised.

Umair Irfan

13 years, Karachi

I would pass a law that whoever would bribe, rob or spread nepotism and corruption in Pakistan, he/she would be imprisoned for life and will have to pay Rs100, 000.

This would force everyone to follow the new rule and would help maintain peace and justice throughout the country.

Hence, gradually Pakistanis would become patriotic to their nation.

Iqra Azfar,

13 years, Karachi

I would eliminate illiteracy from Pakistan by building schools all over the country; especially in places without schools, with good teaching staff and inexpensive fee structure.

Sana Mushtaq,

13 years, Hyderabad

I would shut down all the factories making unhealthy snacks for people. Most kids eating junk food get ill because of all the unhealthy ingredients present in such snacks.

Malghalara Ahmad Shah,

12 years, Peshawar

My priority will be to give charity to the homeless and the poor, which will include money, clothes, food, books, shelter and other valuable resources that they are deprived of.

Amna Farooq,

14 years, Lahore

I would give first priority to the education system and then to the distribution of wealth and implementation of justice and peace. I would punish and reward without indiscrimination.

Maqbool Ahmed Mangi,

16 years, Sukkur

I would help the poor and remain honest with everyone. I would arrange trainings for traffic police and regulate traffic rules. I would maintain so much security that there will be no robberies.

Bareerah Navaid Ahmad,

10 years, Karachi

I would implement strict laws against people who are using social media to provoke people to fight. And I would demolish the quota system so that everyone gets equal chance.

Shaheryar Ahmed,

18 years, Karachi

I would implement strict laws against corruption and reform the educational institutions by giving more financial aid to them. Once they are strengthened, the democratic order would automatically become strong.

Marwa Khan,

12 years, Swabi-KP

What beautiful day it will be when I shall sit on the chair of Prime Minster of Pakistan. Thanks to Young World, I can be the PM of Pakistan for one day.

So, the first order from me will be that I will nationalise the entire educational system in Pakistan. This decision will have the following benefits: only one education system in the country, no separate system of education for religious and traditional schools, totally free education for all and 100 percent literacy in Pakistan.

Maheela Alam,

10 years, Lahore

If I become the prime minister of Pakistan for one day, then I will arrest all corrupt leaders, politicians and bureaucrats who made us slaves even after independence.

Jalib Niaz Jusakey,

12 years, Turbat

If I were the PM for a day, I would collect money to help the poor. I would have hostels built for the poor that also provide them with free food. I think every child should have access to quality education.

Ayla Bano Ahmed,

8 years, Karachi

Our country has not seen any peaceful day in the last 70 years, but having the opportunity to be the PM for one day, I will bring positive reforms in the current laws so that Pakistan will always have peace. I will pass bills in favour of the common people and not the feudal.

Uzair Ahmed,

15 years, Hyderabad

My first priority will be to revamp the educational system of our country by appointing competent teachers in all educational institutes and will terminate all incompetent and uneducated teachers. Moreover, I will revise the age-old curricular like Sindh Textbook Board’s books.

Sajjad Ali,

15 years, Hyderabad

My priorities will be to provide free and safe education to all children of Pakistan, especially in the backward rural areas. I will recruit ‘good soldiers’ to eliminate all the terrorists and make schools safe so that students are not frightened to go to school.

Sadgunj Baloch,

12 years, Turbat

I will provide justice to everyone. I will create awareness programmes so that everyone becomes civilised and not illiterate in any sense.

I will also strengthen our country’s defence and would make military training compulsory for everyone.

Shaygi Nazir,

12 years, Karachi

I will end the corrupt system of the country in order to eradicate poverty. There will be strict rules so that people avoid illegal activities and, therefore, become involved in positive activities for the development of the country.

Nadia Nazir,

15 years,

Published in Dawn, Young World August 5th, 2017