During extended periods of political and economic difficulties, societies often seek simple explanations for complex failures. One such explanation is generational blame. It is the belief that national decline can be attributed to the moral or intellectual failure of those currently in power. For Pakistan, this narrative has gained momentum among younger citizens who tend to interpret the country’s crisis as a symptom of the diminishing relevance of the older generation. However, despite its emotional appeal, this perception risks diverting attention from deeper structural factors.
A growing trend among young people in Pakistan is to declare the older generation irrelevant, defeated, and finished. It is indeed an emotionally powerful claim, but it is also an incomplete one. Declaring “it is over” may feel excitable, yet it is evident that societies do not collapse or transform simply because one generation grows disillusioned.
The argument that patriotism cannot be taught but must emerge from opportunities isn’t wrong but is also not the whole truth. Patriotism, in Pakistan or elsewhere, has never been a purely economic phenomenon. Nations with weaker infrastructure and fewer opportunities have produced citizens deeply committed to collective survival. Love for a nation or a country is shaped by history, culture, memories, and shared struggle, not merely GDP figures or internet speed.
The highlight that Gen Z “sees through everything” is an overstatement. Access to information does not automatically translate into wisdom. The internet provides knowledge but also floods minds with misinformation and manipulation. Thinking independently doesn’t mean thinking correctly.
Moreover, blaming systematic failures on boomers oversimplifies Pakistan’s problems. The crisis is structural, institutional, and historical. It is shaped by colonial legacies, regional instabilities, political disruptions, global pressures, and yes, by mistakes made across multiple generations. Therefore, to confine these complexities to an age war is intellectually convenient but analytically weak.
Another idea that the rulers are disconnected while the youth are uniting is misleading. Especially the Pakistani youth are not a single bloc. Some want reform, others want to escape. Some demand freedom, others demand order. Some want nationalism, others reject it. However, this divide is neither uniform nor absolute, rather, it is fragmented, uneven, and deeply shaped by class dynamics.
Migration is not new. Pakistan has been an exporter of labor, talent, and ambitions for decades. The claim that young people leave because of resistance isn’t a reality. Many leave not because they are silenced revolutionaries, but because global migrations offer better opportunities and returns on effort. This is not resistance, instead of rational self-interest.
As for the suggestion that memes defeat power, laughter is not leveraging. Authoritarian systems have survived satire, jokes, underground music, and even mass protests. Power does not fall because it is mocked instead when institutions collapse or elites fracture.
Yes, the economy is struggling, housing is unaffordable, and governance is weak. But these realities do not mean that the older generation has “lost” and youth have “won”. It underscores that the state is stuck in a cycle that requires reforms, compromises, and institutional rebuilding, not generational dismissal.
Finally, the argument that “no one is listening anymore” is dangerous. Societies do not improve when dialogue ends. When a side stops listening and others stop speaking, stagnation deepens. Declaring the end of conversation closes the very space where change is possible.
Pakistan does not need a generational victory, it needs continuity with correction. Experience informed by accountability, and youth empowered by responsibility. Revolutions built on exclusions do not build anything lasting.
It is not over. It is unfinished.
*The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Diplomatic Insight.
Abdul Momin Rasul is a contributing author on TDI
