Pakistan, Feb. 3 -- Streets are festooned with fluttering party flags, posters, banners and life-size portraits of candidates across Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi in the run-up to the Feb. 8 crucial national vote to elect a new government for a five-year term.

Through social media and election rallies, political parties are busy in last-ditch efforts to woo the voters. And this time, their main target is the young voters who make up 45% of the nearly 130 million strong electorate. Aside from other election-related promises, almost all the contesting political parties are vying to coax the youth, promising to introduce new jobs, education and startups if they come into power. The number of young voters, according to official data ...