I write with deep concern about the alarming decline of reading habits among Pakistani youth and the deserted state of our libraries. These libraries were once the sanctuaries of knowledge, built to shape a ‘promising future’ for our nation. Today, they stand as haunted, empty halls – shelves gathering dust while our young people flock to TikTok and reels. But the reason is not just technology. Our education system rewards rote learning, not curiosity. A degree no longer requires critical thinking, so students see no value in reading beyond the syllabus.
Meanwhile, book prices have risen by 40 per cent since 2024 due to paper costs and taxes, putting them out of reach for middle-class families. If a society stops reading, it stops questioning, stops imagining and stops progressing. We are raising a generation that knows viral trends but not their own history, literature or science. I urge the education authorities to make library memberships free for all students, add a mandatory ‘reading hour’ in all universities without exams or grading and launch subsidised mobile libraries for low-income areas. Reading must not become a luxury for the elite.
Urfa Rahman
Islamabad
