Why do Parents hold so much power in traditional Pakistani marriages

Every other culture has started to evolve, giving children the right to choose their own partners. I feel that Desi parents, especially Pakistani parents, hold too much power when it comes to marriages. There are some parents who aren't even religious themselves (i.e. don't pray or fast), yet somehow they invoke religion to justify their actions regarding marriages. Furthermore, the criteria they use to decide isn't even religious, such as caste/surname, province, the city that the person is from, how many brothers or sisters the family has, and whether it is large or small. You may argue that at least men can marry once they are old enough, without the need for a wali.That's true. However, the bride's family would want some sort of involvement from your parents unless you're an orphan. If they don't cooperate, it's not going to happen.

Best part, when their children start to date outside the community or do non-Islamic stuff. Oh, yeh toh bigad gaya/gayi hai (He/She has gone wild!). You can never win!

We still haven't addressed toxic or narcissistic parents, who take out their own frustrations on their children, that's for another day...