Youth Road Safety Conference: Another feather in Shoaib Siddiqui’s cap

Pakistan News & Features Services

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Secretary, Youth Affairs Department Government of Sindh, lived upto the reputation of turning his visionary ideas into action by holding the first-ever Youth Road Safety Conference at the Marriott Hotel, Karachi, on December 17. 

The full-day event was organized by the Youth Parliament, whose membership is open to those in the 14 to 35 years age-group, with the collaboration of the Youth Affairs Department Government of Sindh but in practice it was the fulfillment of Shoaib Siddiqui’s another dream. 

It was revealed during the conference that the idea of having a Road Safety Conference exclusively for the youth was conceived when Shoaib Siddiqui came across a news report some months ago in which the high casualties of youth in the province were highlighted in road accidents. 

The Youth Parliament, having been founded on August 14, 2005, came in contact with the Youth Affairs Department and they decided to join hands in turning this dream into reality. 

The registration for the conference had opened on December 12 and the response was overwhelming. The organizers didn’t have to wait long to formally announce the closure of booking because the space in the hall was to be limited. 

No wonder the hall was packed to capacity when the proceedings got underway and the success of the event could be gauged by the intensity which didn’t drop even after being there for more than eight hours. 

The topics discussed included the causes of road accidents, license system, traffic police on road, emergency health services, first aid, hospital emergency, ambulance, vehicles maintenance, rule of law, dangers of motorbikes, role of education institutions and the role of media. 

The thought-provoking speech by Irshad Ali Raza, a senior police official, enlivened the proceedings. He candidly admitted the shortcomings in the system but advised the youngsters to be better prepared to meet the challenge in future. 

In the extended interactive session, he replied to the most probing of questions with a cool head and tried to satisfy the young minds, many of whom expressed disappointment with the performance of traffic police and sought remedial measures from the government. 

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Secretary, Youth Affairs Department Government of Sindh, in his remarks, appreciated the talents of the young generation of the province in the various fields and he hoped that they would make it big in the years to come. 

While assuring the support of his department in facilitating the youngsters by holding many such events in future, he urged the youth to continue working hard to accomplish their cherished goals. 

Rizwan Jaffar, Chairman, Youth Parliament, spoke to the audience quite a few times during the day. The other office-bearers of the parliament were also provided the opportunity of briefly sharing their views at the stage.