Pakistan GenNext all for peace

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">KARACHI: On face of it, it was no out of the way event. Just a group of Pakistani teenagers watching an Indian movie, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Black</span>. What made it special was the post-mortem. Besides discussing the quality of the production and Rani Mukherjee''s histrionic skills, one of them loudly said: "It''s great we are getting on good terms with India now. We may then be able to watch such state-of-the-art movies on the big screen rather than a computer or TV screen."<br /><br />Perhaps it is small benefits such as this that may one day build a great and lasting friendship between India and Pakistan. <br /><br />Obviously, there are also the great blessings to look forward to. "It''s time that both the countries extend a hand of friendship to each other. We are simply sick of wars and being at the risk of a war," says Aeman Najam, a 19-year-old medical student in Karachi. <br /><br />"Our history is filled with tragic stories of migration, war and hatred. It''s good if we can mould our future with friendship and peace," she says, echoing the sentiments recently expressed by President Pervez Musharraf''s son, Bilal.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">Like most young girls and boys back home, Gen Musharraf''s western-educated son showed a keen interest in Bollywood movies during his visit to India and expressed his desire for friendship between the two countries. But is this how Pakistan GenNext thinks? To a very large extent, yes! Younger people in Pakistan welcome the peace initiatives. The corridors of sports, culture and showbiz attract the young generation and if that continues the future is bright.<br /><br />The religious-minded or the hardliners cannot stop this wave, says Karachi-based analyst Tauseef Ahmed.<br /><br />Student politics has been banned in Pakistan since the Zia days and parents consider participation of their children in politics a sin due to the violence associated with it. Though most of the young belonging to the elite class prefer to go to the best schools, attend parties, and enjoy a luxurious life, shunning politics, the silver lining is that they are in a minority.<br /></div> </div>