According to the UN Human Development Reports, 64 percent of the population of Pakistan (some 148.1 million out of 241.4 million) is less than 30 years old, and 29 percent of Pakistanis are aged between 15 to 29. According to World Economics, Pakistan`s median age is 20.2 years against a global median of 30.3 years. In sum, Pakistan has a great number of young people in the country, a luxury not many countries have today, not even the richest and most developed ones. However, the unfortunate reality is that on account of multiple reasons, these very energetic young people are reluctant to serve the nation for various reasons, mostly valid. Why do the youth not settle in Pakistan and the way forward in this regard?
Many intellectuals and skilled people leave Pakistan every year due to fewer available opportunities at home. They go to other countries to find opportunities to make ends meet. Annually, some 445,000 students graduate from different universities in Pakistan and some 31 percent of them with professional degrees are unemployed. Also, Pakistan was ranked among the top ten countries with a larger and more skilled labour force. But due to lack of opportunities, not only the professional graduates but also the skilled labour has no other choice but to leave the country for better or even ordinary opportunities to earn a livelihood. These intellectuals and skilled people are in great demand in the developed parts of the globe because they contribute to the progress and development of societies.
Understandably, the migration of intellectual and skilled people is most of the time from developing countries to countries with higher opportunities for better living standards and a secure environment. Globalization has made it easier to migrate from one country to another. The same is the case with Pakistan, where people, particularly the youth, are not willing to live here any more. It badly impacts the country’s economy and its progress and results in the loss of advanced and creative ideas.
This culture of leaving Pakistan for better opportunities needs serious attention. A large pool of intellectual and skilled people is leaving the country because of the ongoing economic crisis, political instability, and a weak law and order situation. For instance, more than 11 million Pakistanis live abroad. The mass migration in Pakistan surged in 2022 as more than 765,000 young qualified professionals left the country in search of employment overseas, particularly as a result of the unstable political and economic conditions at home.
Establishing a safe and productive environment and improving the social and political atmosphere of the country will decrease the rate of such migrations, as argued by a European academician, Frederic Docquier. Before we lose all the talent we have, the government should act. The issue is simple; however, the matter is whether the leadership will acknowledge it before the country loses its intellectuals and skilled people.
In a Gallup-Pakistan Survey, over two-thirds of Pakistan’s young people said that they would like to work and study overseas, and 50 percent said they would not like to return to their homeland. On account of better income opportunities, better standards of living, accessibility to technological developments, and more politically stable systems, people are motivated to move toward industrialized and economically and politically stable countries such as the USA and the European states. Among all the above reasons, 66 percent left the country for career prospects, which is the highest.
Another factor that encourages highly skilled workers’ migration is the lack of research and opportunities for better-quality education in the country. Besides, favouritism and bribery have also overshadowed merit-based selection on various jobs, and because of it, deserving people get disheartened and think of leaving the country. According to an attorney Rafia Zakaria, who writes frequently in the press, in a study based on interviews of Pakistanis who recently arrived in Italy, over 50 percent of them stated that they had been escaping from conflict and violence, while 36 pecent cited an absence of rights and freedom at home, as a reason, to migrate.
Moreover, the lack of a secure environment for business investments is also a reason as many people, instead of paying income tax, pay bhatta (extortion money) to mafias and gangs for their security which does not benefit the state. Out of frustration, big investors prefer to spend elsewhere because investments abroad are safer compared to those in Pakistan. It impacts the country through a reduction in tax revenue. If the money is invested in the native country, it can generate tax revenues as well as job opportunities.
A country’s degree of advancement is strongly linked with its intellectual capacity. Losing doctors, engineers, scientists, professors or researchers hinder a country’s advancement potential. For instance, from 1971 till now, 29,939 doctors, 11,968 nurses, 5791 pharmacists, 87,869 engineers, 66,093 accountants, and 230,639 painters/artists have left Pakistan for different reasons. All of them would have been serving the homeland if they were provided with basic facilities and required opportunities. The same is the case with Sri Lanka, where its professionals and skilled labour are leaving the country because of the economic crisis. The request for new passports in Sri Lanka in 2022 has risen about 250 percent. It can be claimed that countries with the least economic progress face an increase in such migrations.
It is also proven that when economic development increases, migrations for better opportunities decrease and vice versa. The issue can be countered by creating more economic opportunities, a) Pakistan should adopt effective policies that are helpful to both the country and its citizens, such as providing job opportunities on the basis of education and experience and offering highly qualified people attractive salary packages; b) improving merit-based employment for all individuals, regardless of race, nationality, or religion; c)Â entrepreneurship skills can also help the youth to earn a respectable livelihood by themselves; d)Â creation of opportunities for a massive number of educated and ambitious individuals should be the obligation of lawmakers.
Most importantly, the government cannot possibly provide jobs to every citizen but can help them by giving them the skills to earn. Entrepreneurship programmes and training under the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), and the National Incubation Centre (NIC) which provide digital and vocational training and skills to young people to make them eligible for self-employment, should be upgraded.
Establishing a safe and productive environment and improving the social and political atmosphere of the country will decrease the rate of such migrations, as argued by a European academician, Frederic Docquier. Before we lose all the talent we have, the government should act. The issue is simple; however, the matter is whether the leadership will acknowledge it before the country loses its intellectuals and skilled people.
