27/11/2025
Dear People of Gilgit Baltistan!
It is high time that we, as parents and guardians, take full responsibility for the upbringing, guidance, and supervision of our children. Today, a concerning gap has emerged between parents and children, a silence so deep that many parents don’t even know what their children are doing, thinking, or planning.
Parenting is not limited to providing food, shelter, and education. It requires emotional involvement, communication, guidance, and continuous awareness of your children’s actions and decisions. Sadly, many children, especially teenagers feel unsupervised, unguided, and unsupported, which pushes them towards harmful directions.
As a citizen of Hunza, I deeply feel the pain of this issue. Whenever I am in a gathering or public place and I see groups of teenagers smoking, drinking alcohol, or using illegal substances, it genuinely hurts me. I feel pity not only for those young individuals but also for their parents, who seem unaware or unconcerned about what their children are doing. It is heartbreaking to witness promising young minds falling into wrong habits due to lack of attention, communication, and guidance at home. These sights upset me deeply, and this message is my humble attempt to awaken our community before things get worse.
Another growing concern is that many students are being sent to down cities like Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi for education, often at a very young age. At the age when they need the most guidance, supervision, and emotional support from their parents or elders, they are sent away to live alone or in hostels. There, without any proper monitoring, they easily fall into wrong company and peer pressure. Instead of focusing on education, many get distracted by unhealthy habits, partying, drugs, and irresponsible behavior. Sadly, most parents have no clear idea about how their children are actually living, studying, or struggling away from home.
Recently, 28 young men from Gilgit-Baltistan were reported to be trapped in Cambodia after becoming victims of a human trafficking and forced-labor scam. Shockingly, some of their parents had no idea where their children were, what their plans were, or even that they had left the country. They only discovered the truth when their children called desperately for help.
It has unfortunately become a trend for young people to make major life decisions, moving abroad, switching careers, or dropping studies, without discussing with their parents or elders. When young people do not receive proper guidance, they become vulnerable to manipulation, exploitation, and emotional or financial harm.
Dear parents, your role is not just to raise children, but to guide them, protect them, and actively participate in their life decisions, emotionally, morally, and mentally. Your presence, your conversations, and your attention can protect them from countless risks and wrong influences.
Please, talk to your children.
Know their friends.
Understand their goals.
Guide their decisions.
Let them feel that they are seen, heard, and truly cared for.
Let us rebuild the bond between parents and children, built on trust, communication, and guidance, before it is too late.
- Marvi Ali
Clinical Psychologist
QAU
Alumnus Uswa Public School & College Ganish Hunza
