Brain drain

Pakistan is a victim of brain drain. Of late, hundreds and thousands of people are desperately flocking to greener pastures, and are going over the brink in attaining that objective. One of the prime reasons for this mass exodus is the plummeting economic situation coupled with an uneven and discriminate political mosaic. People, especially the learned youth, rightly believe that there are not enough opportunities for them in terms of social mobility, and the situation is further tarnished at the hands of soaring unemployment. The decline in the value oof the rupee has made life miserable and people are losing trust in the system in vogue. Reports say in the last one year or so, more than a million qualified youth have left Pakistan. Thousands of blue-collar workers are found to be struggling for survival on some enclaves in Northern Africa or on the coasts of Europe. This is a pathetic situation and deserves an instant solution.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar’s submission that youth must be encouraged, if they decide to move to the US, Europe, or any other country, is nothing but a goodwill gesture. Such a wish is only favourable if they elicit a welcome response from their newfound lands. But what is happening is contrary to the craving of the desperate youth, and there are multiple obstacles in finding a way out, even in the legal sense. An unfriendly visa regime from almost all of the countries for green passport holders, despite candidates’ individual credentials, accompanied with a lethargic bureaucratic security clearance at home makes the task horrendous. There are hindrances on every front of that path. Last but not least, policies towards the expatriates, of late, have alienated them to the core. While remittances by the overseas Pakistanis are the backbone of the economy, as they have been pouring in more than $30 billion annually, they have been denied their right to vote. Such inherent discrepancies are in need of being addressed, and Pakistani diaspora and those willing to bring a good name to their homeland by virtue of their skills and talent honoured in all forms and manifestations.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2023.

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