Declaring that it is “over” may sound bold and fashionable, but it is neither insight nor truth. It is a resignation presented as an analysis. To claim that Gen Z has abandoned patriotism, that the state has lost relevance, and that young Pakistanis are merely waiting for an exit misunderstands both this generation and the country it inhabits.

You argue that patriotism cannot be sold. On that point, there is agreement. But patriotism also does not evaporate simply because a generation demands accountability. Pakistan has not survived wars with India, decades of terrorism, economic shocks, and sustained external pressure because its people stopped believing. It survived because educated, vocal, and committed Pakistanis stepped forward when it mattered most.

The universities you dismiss as venues for forced patriotism are the same institutions that produced the officers, pilots, engineers, analysts, doctors, and planners who protected this country. Modern conflict is not won through emotional slogans or blind obedience. It is won through strategy, training, technology, and discipline. The minds that........

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