Student federations have been growing in popularity and significance in Pakistan over the past few years. This has been attributed to the increasing social disparity between the younger and older generation of the country. 66% of population of Pakistan is currently under the age of 30,Saeed Shah (20 November 2009).British Council: Pakistan facing 'frightening' demographic disaster.The Telegraph. Accessed 2013-4-18 and approximately only 5% of the population is over the age of 65.Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Researchers have noted the significance of political youth organisations in social environments such as these, and have project that the youth organisations in Pakistan will help define the future of the nation over the next few years.Michael Kugelman (January 2012). Prospects for youth-led movements for political change in Pakistan Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center Reporters have noted that Pakistan's political climate is in a current state of divisive unrest. Political actions taken within the country have simultaneously sparked public celebrations and large-scale riots.Hasnain Kazim (15 January 2013). Unrest and Political Uncertainty: Pakistan Tumbles into Chaos Spiegel Online International, Accessed 2013-4-22 Because of the demographics of the country, the population under age 30 has been very involved in these public actions, and the youth and student organisations have been prominent. A new student organisation, mathematical society GPGC Haripur was formed on 1 January 2023, under the patronage of Professor Naeem Akhtar Abbasi, chairmanship of Professor Aftab Ahmed, coordination of Professor Syed Bilal Shah and presidency of Syed Hamza Kazmi. The society has more than 30 members.

Background

The first student political group in Pakistan was the Muslim Students Federation. Started in 1947, as a student wing of the Muslim League, the Muslim Students Federation held prominence in Pakistan until the Muslim League splinted shortly after coming to power.Nadeem F. Paracha. Student politics in Pakistan: A celebration, lament and history The Nadeem F. Paracha Works Archive The 1950s saw the rise of two kinds of political student parties; Left leaning Marxist parties like the Democratic Students Federation,Beena Sarwar, (22 August 2011). Aur Nikle.nge Ushhaq ke Qafley - a documentary film on DSF (1949-54) 30 min (2010) and religious right wing parties like Anjuman Talba-e-Islam and Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba.Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba Pakistan The leftist groups were not treated kindly by the ruling powers at the time, and in 1953 during a protest led by the Democratic Student Federation, the police shot into the crowd killing six students.Fawad Hasan, (2 January 2013). Students Demands Day: the struggle continues PUBLICi Accessed 2012-4-22 The next year the same group was banned from the country for its possible ties to the Communist party of Pakistan, followed shortly thereafter by a ban of its successor group the All Pakistan Students Organisation. These groups were succeeded by yet another leftist group, the National Students Federation, which continues on to this day.

The student unions in the 1960s were characterised primarily as a struggle between the Maoist-Marxist left and the religious right, with the leftist National Students Federation and the National Students Organisation coming out on top. The 1970s brought with it a rise in student political action as the 1974 Student Union Ordinance was passed.Jayatsen Bhattacharya, (17 October 2012). A catch he can't miss HindustanTimes Accessed 2013-4-22 This Ordinance actually encouraged student activity on campus, and several prominent new student organisations came into existence and grew during this time. Meanwhile, the struggle between the leftist and religious student associations grew with both sides creating their own respective alliances, though both groups suffered from political infighting and splintering.

Through the late 1970s and into the 1980s the student groups began to clash violently with each other and the government.

Current issues There are currently three major issues driving the political activist groups in Pakistan which are a lack of educational opportunities, jobs and ideological differences.

Education The public education system has three major problems facing it right now. First, there is a shortage of teachers and schools within the country. Approximately 33% of the children in Pakistan are not attending school, and even the ones who are may not have an actual teacher in the classroom.Teach For Pakistan- Start the Movement Second, the public education system is outdated by over 30 years. The textbooks used in the majority of public schools were written in the 1980s and they tend to lead students to be more susceptible to adaptation to radical forms of Islam.Moeed Yusuf, (October 2008),ProsPects of Youth Radicalization in Pakistan: Implications for U.S. Policy The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations With the Islamic World Third is the stark difference between the private and public education systems. The top ten percent of the country send their children to private schools that speak English, instead of Urdu, and most children coming out of the private education system tend to be dismissive of their Urdu-speaking counterparts. This is creating a strong communication and familial rift between the educated population of Pakistan.

Jobs The job market in Pakistan is not promising for students coming out of the education system. The unemployment rate in 2008 was estimated at 24.67%. This was attributed to a large part of the student population getting educated for technical jobs that are not in high demand in the country.Unemployment in Pakistan (Case Study) Approximately 85% of Pakistanis only make $4 per day, which is not an appealing prospect to college graduates in Pakistan.Muhammad Naveed, (21 March 2013). Unemployment In Pakistan FM Urdu Accessed 2013-4-22 This disparity of expectations is mobilising factor behind a significant number of student federations.

Ideological differences The student federations of Pakistan have been known to engage in fights over political, religious, ethnic, nationalist, and sectarian differences. Several students die each year in the physical confrontations that frequently break out between groups during protests.Daily Times Pakistan Accessed 2013-4-15

Students Islamic Federations

Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba Pakistan (IJT)

Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba is the largest student organisation founded just after the independence of Pakistan on 23 December 1947. It is affiliated with Jaamat-e-Islami. It is mainly influenced by the ideology of Syed Abul A'la Maududi. It is the only student organisation in Pakistan that is present throughout the country and Bangladesh and at various levels i.e schools, colleges and universities.

Anjuman Talaba-e-Islam

Anjuman Talaba-e-Islam ("Islamic Organisation of Students") is the non-political student organisation founded on 20 January 1968 with respect to 20th Shawwal 1387 A.H at Sabz Masjid Sarafa Bazaar, Karachi, Pakistan by a group of students. In 1986 student union elections in all cities of Pakistan, ATI came forward as the leading victorious Student Organisation by taking more than 80% results. The current President is Mubashar Hussain from Karachi, Pakistan.

Pakistan Islamic Students Federation

It is unclear when the Pakistan Islamic Students Federation (PISF or APISF) was founded, though its internet presence was established on 24 February 2012. PISF is an Islamic group in Pakistan best known for its protests of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the Danish cartoons depicting Muhammad where they called for the public hanging of the Danish cartoonists.Pakistan Denmark Prophet Drawings

Imamia Students Organisation

Imamia Students Organisation is a Shi'a Muslim students organisation in Pakistan. It was founded by Dr. Mohammad Ali Naqvi on 22 May 1972 at University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. In 2012 it had "around 1200 units in Pakistan,"Amir Rana and Waqar Gillani (24 November 2003). Iran not funding ISO: Shirazi. DailyTimes.com. Accessed 2007-09-10. covering all the five provinces of Pakistan, the Tribal Areas, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

Allegations were directed against ISO that they receive funding from Iran. ISO counters those allegations, stating that they only receive moral guidance from Iran.

Muslim Student Federation

Muslim Student Federation or MSF is a conservative Pakistani political group that was started on 1 September 1937 in Calcutta, India by the old All-India Muslim League.Muslim Student Federation Formation of Muslim Student Federation The group has a wing in Pakistan led by Rana ArshadMuslim Student Federation (N) Central Leadership and Rana Hassnain leading in Punjab as senior vice president along with coordinator Green Tiger. The student federation has also been known to engage in fights previously with some of the progressive student federationsOwais Jafri (25 November 2013).Mumtaz Hussain Bhatti was famous student leader of the federation.He was President of Punjab during Ghulam Haider Wyne period in Punjab Campus violence: Three critical after students’ clashThe Express Tribune Accessed 2013-4-22 and exhibit an independent mildly conservative nature.Muslim Student Federation • Chichawatni Pakistan

In Pakistan MSF-N is aligned to the PML-N which is a major centre-right party in the country.

Progressive and Marxist groups The Struggle

The Struggle (Urdu: طبقاتی جدوجہد‎) is a Trotskyist, Leftist organisation in Pakistan which was found in Netherlands by Lal Khan and other Pakistani activists. The group follows the ideology of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Leon Trotsky.

It is the only organisation working physically into people and politicising students and workers.

The Struggle group has their own publication agency and has published numerous books and leaflets on topics including Marxist ideology, history of Marxist struggle in Pakistan, and various books covering history of Bolshevik revolution.

The Struggle's trade union front is known as Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC), and multiple other fronts working among Youth, including Revolutionary Students Front (RSF) and Unemployed Youth Movement. In 2015, youth and students fronts of the Struggle started a campaign to bring together prominent left-wing students and youth organizations from across the country on a single platform. It holds its regularly congress which are held every year to analyse the performance of The Struggle and to formulate new strategies for social change and revolution. In March 2013, Malala Yousafzai sent solidarity message to The Struggle congress.

Democratic Students Federation (DSF)

Democratic Students Federation founded in 1949, and being the oldest leftist student federation in Pakistan many other left leaning student political organizations can trace their heritage back to this group. The DSF was banned in 1956 because of its political association with the communist party, which resulted in several other student groups forming from its ashes, like the National Students Federation and the Liberal Students Federation.Nadeem F. Paracha (10 February 2008).Student politics: a brief historyDawn.com Accessed 2013-4-22 The DSF was allowed to reorganise in 1980, and grew in popularity because of its connection to the then powerful Soviet Union. This popularity faded after dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the group restructured itself in 2011 to adapt to more current issues. The groups stated mission is to "bring back the balance of power to the students in universities which was formerly lost." Nowadays, both the NSF and ISF claim common heritage from the old DSF.

JUTT Student Federation