It was December 2022, and winter in Quetta. In the heart of this picturesque landscape, Qamber Bugti, a 34-year-old engineer, found himself yearning for a new chapter in life. He had toiled as a part-time rickshaw driver, a humble livelihood.
Now, as he looked at his sold rickshaw, Bugti was at a crossroads. He desired to permanently leave Balochistan, seeking new opportunities and a brighter future elsewhere. He reached out to a cousin in Bahrain, earnestly requesting assistance in obtaining a work visa.
“I would toil at ungodly hours of night to make so much money. I would buy a house and then marry and permanently settle in Bahrain with my wife and children. ” Bugti tellshis cousin saying he will never return.
His cousin, however, suggests he apply for an engineering post, but he had been tired of appearing in interviews but in vain. His cousin says he was a hardworking student in university. ” If he permanently lesves, the province would not only lose an engineer but also his expertise.“
“Educated people like Qamber will continue to pour out of the country until issues related to transparency are resolved,” Qamber’s cousin concludes.
His sadness is palpable. The deteriorating state of law and order, soaring unemployment, and the pervasive economic and political turmoil have compelled big brains like Qamber Bugti, along with a multitude of others, to make the heart-wrenching decision to permanently leave.
According to statistics from the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, a staggering 765,000 Pakistanis left the country in 2022. This exodus included a diverse array of professionals, doctors, educators, engineers, nurses, IT specialists, accountants, and agricultural experts. A significant portion, over 730,000, went to the Gulf tates, 119,000 heading to the UAE, 51,634 to Qatar, 77,000 to Oman, and 2,000 to Kuwait. Among the 765,000 individuals leaving Pakistan, 7,000 were from Balochistan.
Given the province’s large area and its small population, which is even less than that of Karachi, the departure of one percent of its residents abroad was not inconsequential.
Regrettably, this likely represents only the visible portion of a much larger issue. There is reason to believe that some individuals, in cases of human trafficking, may have found refuge in neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan or Iran without leaving a trace in official records.
Abdul Rehman Dasthi, 24, a physics student at the University of Pecs in Hungary, emphasizes that better job opportunities for the youths would entice them back to their native places because those regions urgently require the skills they have gained from the developed world.
Dashti states, ‘For example, those people who go for higher studies in Europe or the USA prefer to work there because those countries have invested in fields that attract immigration, especially in areas like information technology and space science.”
He cites the examples of Dr Yarjan Samad , an assistant professor of aerospace engineering at Khalifa University in the UAE, who once worked at the European Space Agency. He would not have left the province if universities in Pakistan offered adequate knowledge about space science. Then there’s Chiragh Baloch, one of 35 content creators recording NASA’s Psyche Mission for their social media accounts. This is NASA’s first mission to study an asteroid that has more metal than rock or ice. He could have represented Balochistan in SUPARCO’s space programme.
Both federal and provincial governments should implement proactive policies to encourage the youth to stay in this region. This can be achieved through investments in the education system, offering employment opportunities, scholarships for youths, improving healthcare, and providing incentives to professionals.
Research in 2022 underscores the severity of unemployment, revealing that out of 25,000 students graduating from various universities in 2021, a meagre 2,000 secured government positions.
Another research discloses that approximately 25 PhDs from Balochistan University have sought refuge in more developed nations, with an astounding 200 educators submitting applications to follow suit. The research also brings to light the sombre reality that a significant number of journalists aspire to permanently depart Balochistan as 22 have died in the past four years. Moreover, 29 professors and medical practitioners have chosen to leave because of the risk.
The research attributes these trends to sectarianism, militancy, and kidnapping for ransom, which collectively impel professionals to seek safety outside Balochistan.
Gulzar Baloch works in Abu Nakla outside Doha, Qatar. He shares, “It’s been nearly a year since I left Balochistan. From the remote fringes of Kech district, despite holding a masters’, I couldn’t find work. Consequently, I came to Qatar with a work visa, where I found employment tending a Sheikh’s gardens.”
Asked why he left Balochistan, Gulzar laments, “Balochistan does not offer a peaceful existence. There are significant security threats, and a glaring dearth of job opportunities.”
A report from the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, 1.25 percent of the labour force originated from the Balochistan Province. This workforce comprises skilled and unskilled labourers, and professionals.
The report further states that within Balochistan between 1981 and 2006, the highest share hails from the Quetta division at 0.51 percent.
“In Balochistan, the options for educated youth are starkly limited. They must either immerse themselves in political patronage to become menial peons, or be drawn into oil smuggling from Iran..
Kareem Al Balushi, a 34-year-old Omani citizen of Baloch descent proudly adorned in his cultural heritage, serves in the Armed Forces of Oman as a wakil, the equivalent of a subedar. He shares insights into the Baloch diaspora, known as “Darmolki Baloch.” This term encapsulates those who have relocated from or continue to immigrate from Balochistan to destinations in the Persian Gulf, Europe, North America, South Asia, and Turkmenistan.
Kareem emphasizes the significant influence of Balochi culture within Oman. He states, “Balochi is the third most widely spoken language in Oman. Out of the entire population, 25 percent are Baloch residents, 15 percent expatriates.”
“Balochs were recruited into the Omani armed forces during the late 1960s and 1970s to combat the Dhofar Rebellion, an uprising led by nationalist and communist forces against the government of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Consequently, Baloch troops were enlisted to counter them.”
Kareem elucidates that some Baloch troops returned once the government stabilized, while others were granted Omani citizenship and chose never return to Balochistan due to its underdevelopment and impoverishment. He concludes with a pragmatic piece of advice, “Try to save Balochistan, but if you can’t, just move to the gulf and save yourself.”
It is indeed fascinating to observe how widespread is the surname “Al Balushi” in the Gulf, particularly in Oman, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. Reports indicate that a substantial number, estimated to be between 215,000 and 468,000, have chosen to establish new lives in the UAE, primarily driven by the prospect of improved livelihoods. Notably, those who were residing in the Trucial States, which encompass Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the present-day UAE, and Oman before 1925, were granted UAE citizenship.
Kareem Al Balushi reflects on this unique shared identity, stating, “It feels like a sense of kinship, whether you are in Oman or Balochistan. Here, you encounter the same familiar faces, language, and culture.To me, Oman stands as one of the Middle Eastern countries where obtaining a passport holds special significance for the Baloch.”
Banadi Baloch, a 26-year-old YES program alumna(A US-funded exchange program) and an MBBS doctor at Bolan Medical College in Quetta, passionately echoes the sentiments of numerous educated Baloch women who want to relocate.
“Many educated women aspire to depart from Balochistan because the more developed parts of the world, such as the Gulf and Western countries, provide a safer and more secure environment for women. In Pakistan, regrettably, we grapple with the harrowing realities of rape, honour killings, and human trafficking along with gender discrimination.”
Ali Gohar, Principal of the Government Inter College Tump and a former member of the Balochi Academy, astutely identifies brain drain as a perplexing economic and political anomaly.
He asserts, “This exodus of intellectual capital from the province has far-reaching consequences, for it leaves a void in skills and expertise. The healthcare sector, for instance, faces disintegration as doctors seek more promising opportunities elsewhere. Visionary leaders, possessing invaluable knowledge and talents, opt for foreign pastures, leaving behind a native land deprived of their potential contributions.”
Both federal and provincial governments should implement proactive policies to encourage the youth to stay in this region. This can be achieved through investments in the education system, offering employment opportunities, scholarships for youths, improving healthcare, and providing incentives to professionals. Investing in the province’s education and establishing factories can play a pivotal role. We need to do something before the well dries. Provision of rights granted by the constitution will also end the brain drain.
