KARACHI:
When I wrote my April 14 column in this newspaper (concerning brain drain), it was an intellectual reflection on a troubling question: why are our brightest minds leaving the country that nurtured them? It was a reflection shaped by concern, perhaps even quiet lament. But then came a response from Dr Abid Azhar that transformed the entire discourse.
A distinguished scholar (a former professor, dean of the Faculty of Science, and ex-director of a leading genetic engineering institute at the University of Karachi), Dr Azhar’s remarks were not theoretical; they were lived. Recalling his early days in Australia, he shared a conversation with an accounts officer, Michael North, who questioned whether he would truly return after completing his PhD. It was a fair doubt, shaped by experience, by the many who had made similar promises but never returned.
Dr Azhar’s reply was simple: he would go back.
Years later, he did, deliberately and consciously returning to the same man to say, “I told you, I am going back.” In that moment, a statement became a testament. Michael’s response – “You are one of the very few who have kept their word” – captures both admiration and an uncomfortable truth.
This is where the debate shifts. Brain drain is often framed as a structural issue (lack of opportunity, economic disparity, institutional weakness). All valid. Yet Dr Azhar reframes it as something more personal: a matter of choice, shaped by conscience, upbringing and belonging.
“We were a different generation,” he reflects — words that carry both pride and quiet loss. A generation that saw education not merely as advancement, but as a trust to be returned.
Today, the pull abroad is stronger than ever. Yet one must ask: has opportunity alone changed, or has our relationship with home weakened as well? Have we begun to value ease over purpose?
Dr Azhar’s story does invites introspection. It reminds us that return is not merely geographical; it is ethical. And nations, ultimately, are built not by policies alone, but by those who choose commitment over convenience.
Dr Intikhab Ulfat
Karachi
