By Muhammad Sulaiman

My journey with Students For Liberty began in 2019. It has been one of the most formative and meaningful experiences of my professional and intellectual life.

What started as a curiosity evolved into a journey of leadership, learning, and collaboration with passionate individuals committed to the ideas of liberty.

When I joined the movement, I was already familiar with classical liberal ideas — the principles of individual liberty, economic freedom, limited government, and the rule of law. However, understanding ideas in theory is different from promoting them in practice. Students For Liberty gave me access to the tools, mentorship, and organizational structures needed to translate ideas into action. It strengthened my ability to engage audiences, organize programs, recruit leaders, and build sustainable intellectual communities.

Over the years, I had the opportunity to serve in several roles within SFL. I began as a Local Coordinator (LC) and later served as a Senior Local Coordinator (SLC), helping identify and mentor emerging leaders across Pakistan. Eventually, I had the honor of serving as the National Coordinator (NC) for Pakistan for two consecutive terms. These roles allowed me not only to contribute to the movement but also to witness firsthand the transformation of many young people into confident advocates of liberty.

One of the most fulfilling aspects of my time with SFL was the opportunity to recruit and mentor coordinators who have gone on to become highly effective voices for freedom in our region. Many of them entered the program with curiosity, but through training and discussion, they developed into thoughtful leaders capable of organizing events, writing about policy issues, and engaging in meaningful public discourse.

The context in which we promoted these ideas was not easy.

In Pakistan, conversations around ideas such as economic freedom, institutional accountability, and individual liberty have often been misunderstood or deliberately misrepresented. At times, these ideas were portrayed as a “Westernized agenda,” allegedly incompatible with local values or traditions. Those portrayals get reinforced both by ideological groups with collectivist tendencies and by segments of the religious establishment that view discussions of individual liberty with suspicion.

There were times when discussing these ideas in public forums required courage and persistence. Yet, the commitment of many dedicated students ensured that these conversations did not disappear. Instead, they gradually expanded into universities, discussion circles, and policy debates.

Today, the situation is noticeably different. Discussions about liberty, economic reform, and institutional accountability are increasingly visible in academic and intellectual spaces. Young people are demonstrating a growing curiosity about ideas that challenge conventional narratives and seek to engender more prosperous societies. While much work remains to be done, the progress we have witnessed over the years offers reasons for optimism.

One important moment in my journey with Students For Liberty involved advocating for a Pakistan-specific National Coordinator position. At the time, Pakistan and Afghanistan were managed under a shared structure in which the National Coordinator was based in Afghanistan. Due to the difficult political and security situation there, it was often impossible for the Afghan National Coordinator to travel across the region or effectively support activities in Pakistan.

I advocated for the creation of a dedicated leadership position for Pakistan. My view was that each country in the region faced unique challenges and opportunities that required focused leadership. Eventually, when the position was created, I had the privilege of becoming the first National Coordinator for Pakistan.

Serving in this role for two years was both an honor and a heavy responsibility. With an exceptional team of coordinators across the country, we worked to strengthen the network, organize events, and expand the community of students interested in the ideas of liberty.

For two consecutive years, Pakistan SFL received the Group of the Year Award in South Asia, a recognition that reflected the dedication and hard work of coordinators across Pakistan. In addition, in both years, our group was one of three nominees for the global award. These recognitions were evidence of what a committed team can accomplish together.

Within our team, we tried to establish a culture built on transparency, merit, and fairness. Our goal was to ensure that coordinators were recognized based on their contributions and placed in roles where they could make the greatest impact. Building such a culture is never easy in volunteer organizations, but we believed it was essential for maintaining motivation and trust within the network.

SFL has played a remarkable role in introducing thousands of young individuals around the world to the ideas of liberty and empowering them to become leaders in their communities.

But for me personally, the experience has been extra transformative. It allowed me to build lasting friendships, engage with brilliant thinkers, and develop leadership skills that continue to shape my professional work. Most importantly, it reinforced my belief that ideas — when combined with committed individuals and strong institutions — can gradually reshape societies.

Although my formal role within Students For Liberty may be coming to an end in Spring 2026, my commitment to the principles of liberty will certainly continue. The conversations we started, the leaders we helped develop, and the intellectual communities we built will continue to grow and evolve. And I couldn’t be prouder to know that.

Muhammad Sulaiman is from Pakistan. Through SFL’s Global Accelerator Program, he received a small grant and a brief: Do something that matters for liberty. He designed a 4-day residential Free Market Leadership Bootcamp and recruited 25 student leaders from campuses across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Balochistan: Three provinces with different languages, different political climates, and very different relationships with authority. He trained them in economic freedom, individual liberty, and organizational skills.

When the bootcamp ended, the students went back to their campuses and started organizing events of their own. That is the SFL difference: Capacity compounds; every grant funds another Muhammad, and every Muhammad produces 25 more organizers who carry the work into places Muhammad might never get to visit.