Pakistan has got amazingly talented people who are well equipped with the skills and abilities that make them shine amongst the other but authorities in Pakistan seem to be oblivious of this fact. They don’t seem to be even aware of the word ‘Talent’.

Be it Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a singing legend, his nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, another legend who has rocked the Pakistani and Indian music industry or a 12-year-old student of DI Khan Babar Iqbal who has become the youngest Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist by setting a new world record, Pakistan seems to be oozing talent.

Similarly, Mehak Gul is 13-year-old Pakistani girl who is creating a soft image of Pakistan by being an internationally acclaimed chess player. Ayesha farooq is Pakistan’s first everwar-ready female fighter pilot. The 26-year-old pilot, hailing from Bahawalpur, is one of the 19 women who have achieved the ranks of pilots in the Pakistan Air Force over the last decade. Naseem Hameed, an athlete, who won a gold medal in 100 meter event during the 11th South Asian Federation Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh. These names are just a tip of the iceberg.

Talking about music, there is just so much talent but unfortunately we don’t provide proper channels to these music lovers. Now days, our music industry is creating some good music but it’s not much appreciated. Young singers are treated well only only tell they sing their song and once they finish their first song, they are simply kicked out.

Meanwhile in acting area there are many talented and trained theater artists who have not only given up hopes of stardom, but they have also abandoned their craft altogether due to lack of opportunities.

Judging from the deluge of soaps, short serials and telefilms on various TV channels in Pakistan, one would think that amateur artists are getting ample amount of opportunities to showcase their talent. However, this is far from truth. Many young theatre performers, who have won accolades for their stage performances, have failed to find opportunities in the seemingly burgeoning industry of TV entertainment.

Saqib Khan, a former Electronic Engineer from NED University of Engineering and Technology, abandoned engineering to pursue his passion for acting. Yet three years after graduating from NAPA, he has still not found an opportunity to act in television. Consequently, the dejected actor finally resorted to anchoring a television show.

Such wasted talent is certainly a blow to theatre in Pakistan. This is precisely why, theatre, which gives young actors a chance to hone their craft before moving to the small or big screen, is dying in Pakistan because its performers are not given opportunities for professional development.

Our government has lost focus on the development and prosperity of our youth and is giving the Nation a major set back by creating a major short fall of talented people. The irony is that even when we have quite many talented people in the field, a new trend has started which is to hire foreign consultants to come and do our job at a much higher cost while our equally good local talent is ignored.

There are very few job consultation agencies in Pakistan who could keep a track of the best people in the field and get them organized and offer them the best available possibilities. The ones already working, charge very high services fee which can go up to one complete salary and or at times even more than that.

Good jobs are always given by references and through bypassing the normal hiring procedure which again deprives the real talent of laying their hands on a reasonable job. If we carefully analyze the situation, we would find a lot of miss-fits and non professional people sitting at key positions in various governmental organizations.

Other than government and authorities, families also play an important role by creating hurdles in the way of talents. There are many families in our nation who don’t allow their family members to go in acting field as they think that it is against their culture and religion.

Other than culture, they have a huge concern for their respect and prestige in society so they don’t let their female members go out and work in the field. They think women are only made to work in kitchen and to procreate. Such old school thinking also needs to be changed.

The youngsters are the nation builders and the future. The destiny of the nation is in the hands of youth. They can play a magnificent role in the progress of Pakistan not only economically but socially and practically. All they need is for the state to come forward and create opportunities for them.