We asked Atif few questions to prove his value as a candidate and here is how he answered:

What qualities in you qualify you to be the next supreme leader of FLP? Please share your experience in terms of leadership.

What can one say about oneself in an election nomination without being modest? Nonetheless, I will try to lay my cards on the table in trying to tell you how I am suited to lead this wonderful organization.

In summary, I am a diverse, radical, ambitious, and optimistic person, who has explored and excelled in different aspects of life and has mostly had leadership roles. Such as:

- Run my own business for the past four years, which I started from scratch, and it has not only survived, but also grown. I have high hopes for it to take off despite the economic challenges of today.

- Active in the performing arts, being part of 8 theatre productions, out of which I have written two and directed one. I aspire to make that my mainstream career as well.

- Politically active since the age of 15, and have participated in election campaigns in my city, encouraging people to vote for Pakistan.

- Conducted various workshops on self-motivation, stress management, meditation, entrepreneurship, and career counseling.

- Active member of FLP since 2008; held various positions, and lead/participated various events and activities from time to time from the launching of Parliament Watch Website and Dialog on Leadership in Islamabad to the Youth Leadership Symposium this year – playing key roles in generating sponsorships, making teams, and representing FLP in the Media.

One can’t lead an organization without knowing one’s own strengths and limitations. I believe I have the following strengths:

Will – It’s not just the intention to do something that makes it happen. It’s the will. I believe this almost blindly, that depending on how strongly one wills something, that if done strongly enough, the will becomes reality. This is the underlying pathway of all my ambitions. I can only imagine what it can do when brought into a collective paradigm.

Vision – Without vision, there can be no set goals in life or otherwise, and there can be no road map to achieve that vision. In all my endeavors, I have always been driven by vision. I have the ability to look at a vision clearly, and thereon live it, breathe it, and then have others look at it the same way. I want to bring that to FLP.

Diversity – I have always believed that a human being is innately diverse. I have excelled in multiple fields simultaneously, and I continue to grow in multiple dimensions, from Entrepreneurship to Mind-Sciences, and from Information Technology to Performing Arts. Since FLP is diverse, I think this ability can help me get involved in multiple directions and make improvements.

Entrepreneurial Mind-Set – An entrepreneur has the ability to make something out of nothing. Whether in a business or a social endeavor, entrepreneurial mind-set plays a key role in a growing organization. FLP needs entrepreneurship on all levels i believe i can help produce that.

Communication – It’s not just how and what you’ve said, it’s about what the audience has understood. This is something one learns with time, whether you’re communicating an idea, a strategy, or something tangible.

I must also confess, that I'm a human being, and I do have my own limitations as well as weaknesses. Having said that, it's considered a strength to know ones weaknesses. And i am constantly on the path to personal improvement.

What policies of FLP do you agree with?

I love FLP. I love the idea that leaders can be developed – that they can be groomed. But what I love most about FLP, is that it represents optimism. It’s so easy to be negative about Pakistan these days, but then, every time you talk to an FLP member, or look at a past or upcoming activity, it’s like a ray of bright, pure light in a pitch-black room.

My most favorite policy in FLP is that it doesn’t matter what you want to do for Pakistan, as long as it’s something positive, and it can bring about a good change, FLP takes it on, and owns it (in a good way).

Then there’s the aspect of being non-political. It’s when you’re in a room filled with FLPs, coming from different political, or non-political backgrounds, and different points of view, you realize that the one thing they all have in common is a very, very positive spirit. Pakistan is not about it’s politics, and neither should be its future leaders.

Ever since I joined FLP, I’ve seen it go through radical changes every now and then. I realize that this is possible because FLP is democratic. This also means that FLP can always be changed. Some might see that as a negative or an enmity to consistency, but I see it as a critical success factor.

What policies of FLP do you disagree with?

There’s an excerpt from “Alice in Wonderland” that helps me say what I’m trying to say:

Alice: I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Oh, it really doesn’t matter, as long as...
Cheshire Cat: Then, it really doesn’t matter which way you go!

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Amidst all the positivity, there is a detail that needs to be fixed. FLP has an identity crisis. We need to really see in retrospect the claims of what FLP "is" versus what all FLP "does".

There is no tangible element to leadership development put into place as a benchmark to our organization's success. But then again, we've come a long way, and it's only a natural process of evolution in an organization like ours that we realize our shortcomings and fulfill them.

Another aspect of FLP that concerns me is our Activities in general. They are all good, and valid causes to stand for. What we lack as an organization is focus. Which has a logical explanation: There are just too many things that need to be done. And yes, we should do all these things, but I think the emphasis on Leadership Development gets a little on the back-burner.

What change do you want to bring in FLP?

Shoulders are shoulders. Weight of the world is weight of the world. And yet this is such enmity in the two, that there can be no such thing as balance. One has to win. If the shoulders win, we call them shoulders of leaders, and if the weight of the world wins, the same shoulders become shoulders of victims.

“iss mulk ka kuch nahi ho sakta” is what we hear every so often, that it becomes a source of negativism throughout the youth. The moment we individualize this taunt is when we can actually stand up and say, “aisi ki taisi”. This is the beautiful moment in which we become Pakistan, and we are driven to take the weight of the world on our shoulders, gain strength, and win.

Let’s ask a question that we don’t dare to ask. And even if we do, we cheat ourselves with byproducts as evidence that leadership exists.

What makes a leader?

Consider history. Leaders are radicals. Leaders don’t imitate Switzerland. They stand for something and stand alone first. For shoulders to become shoulders of leaders, they must find what weight of the world they want to challenge. From Alexander to Mohammad, from Jinnah to Napoleon, from Bill Gates to Edhi, all fed from the same trough. They took something that they saw fit, and made it fit for the world. They lived it, breathed it, but most importantly all the time knowing it was radical.

Leadership – what a word!

A ship it is. A brave ship, that sails against the wind, with no engine, except just a force and that of mere will of the leader. And those who ride the ship are followers, adding to the will of conquest.

Individual vs. Organization?

Again, look at history. Organizations have followed leaders, and not the other way around. It was never a group of people who changed the world: it was individuals. Well, yes they did have amazing teams and followers, and yes, they were supported always by other figures, but my point is a little different. I’m just trying to say that the focal point of any movement is the Leader, and then the cause, because the leader becomes the cause in order to preach it. And then maybe, if the leader is successful by any benchmark, the cause identifies itself by a group of people. But the mark of the leader remains in history.

The will of the leader is what makes a leader. The will to conquer, the will to change, the will to create, the will to defeat…

Will is not just intention. Intention carries with it, doubt. Will does not have doubt. It is the spirit blown into a human being on creation by God. It carries with it, infinite power, and contentment beyond any pleasure a human can ever attain. Will is what makes a leader live the cause. Will is what makes them examples. Will is what people want to see. Will is what people follow. Will is what makes a leader pull through the cause, and keep it alive no matter what. Winds against the (leader) ship are the fuel to the will.
Will comes from vision, and the clarity thereof.

Bravery some say, is not courage, it’s about clarity of vision, the clearer you see what’s coming at you, the better you are ready to face it. A Leader can see. And a leader can see so clearly and with passion that others can see it through the leader’s eyes, it can be felt, heard, and even touched.

Sustainability of the vision is the difference between a visionary and a leader. A leader is not just a spectator for the vision. A leader can make his life about the vision until that vision becomes reality. A leader is a master of time. Time does not stop the leader. To the leader, past, present, and future are all the same. He plays with time, because he knows that his will can, and will conquer time - inevitably.

Leaders have the innate ability to create a following. They don’t cry and whine about a cause and “hope” that people will follow. The true leader gets to work, and along the way creates an immediate following at the least. And then further following follows. The leader has the ability to earmark people, and recruit them to the cause. The leader gathers those who can be loyal to the leader, and also if needed, replace the leader or act on the leader’s behalf.

Now, about FLP:

Our activities, projects and chapters are in place and revolve around various causes that FLP claims to promote. Let’s take that a notch higher. Let’s make leaders that lead these activities, projects and chapters - Instead of just hoping that someone will take the lead.

But let’s not forget what we are as an organization at the end of the day. We are a cradle of leadership from where future leaders of Pakistan can springboard into different leadership fields, and make their contribution to making Pakistan better.

To develop a cradle of leadership that identifies, grooms, and supports leaders is undoubtedly a very tricky task if not gargantuan. Ergo, one must understand that to create leaders, there has to be certain aspects to an organization.

So, how do we produce leaders as an organization?

The answer is simple: Focus on the leader. An individual that joins FLP is a to-be leader. It is our job to make sure that he/she achieves personal growth into being a leader. We need to create, manage and execute systems that lead to a tangible production of leadership.

The answer though simple, entails with it a humungous action-plan, which if executed with justice, will not only produce leaders, but also add effectiveness to FLP’s stand for all the causes.

The future of FLP is dependent on the claim that “we are a leadership development organization for the youth.” It’s how much we practically and tangibly prove this claim is what will make our future secure.

Let’s do that, then. Time is against us, and the weight of the world is winning. Let’s flex our muscles and get lifting.

What change do you want to bring through FLP?

Amidst all the terror and instability in the country, it’s hard to live without a sense of concern for where we’re going as a country. But I’m not going to get into that at all. I see it only as a phase, and it will pass.

But that doesn’t mean we all can’t act as catalysts to the change. The youth of Pakistan constitutes more than 50% of the population, most of who are literate. In a population of 170 million, that’s quite an encouraging figure to look at. They’re all there trying to make their future secure and better, and all they lack, is direction.

There is positivity and optimism hidden in the country… it’s just not organized. There are people just waiting to be awakened. Let’s wake them all up.

I see a future of Pakistan filled with empowered young people, who don’t blame the environment, instead, they look at themselves, and see what they can change, and they simply go ahead and change it.

I want us to create such an organization that every member becomes a representative of the FLP wherever they are, and be an example of leadership in their own environments… where we all become responsible citizens.

Let’s really make Pakistan a better place, and the youth, a better youth.