Brain Drain from Pakistan: 300 % increase in 2022

If the young labor force or young skilled people of any country are leaving it to find employment opportunities abroad on a large scale it is called ‘brain drain’. Indeed, the skilled youth of any country is considered its labor capital; Pakistan is one of the fortunate countries where the youth is in majority, but at the same time, unfortunately, these people are leaving Pakistan whose number is in the millions among them the largest number are doctors.

According to a recent survey by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), 62% of the youth want to leave the country, and most of them are between 15 and 24 years of age. As per the findings, reasons for leaving the country included worsening economic conditions, political instability, uncertainty, seeking better jobs, life security, equal opportunities to work, and respectful life. According to the Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Employment, more than 17 million Pakistanis are currently living abroad and this number is increasing day by day. Although overseas Pakistanis are sending a huge amount of remittances to the country and they are an important asset of the country still if this young generation is given opportunities to move forward in their own country, not only the speed of the country’s development will increase but economic stability will also come in the country. As depicted by local media reports, 31% of educated youth are unemployed in Pakistan and more than one million engineers are among them. In a country that is rich in human resources, if such a gigantic number of people will be unemployed, it is no less than a tragedy.

In the previous year (2021), more than 275 thousand people left the country. Unfortunately, every year more than 10 thousand highly educated youth prefer to go abroad instead of serving Pakistan and their numbers are constantly increasing. There is a need to solve the problems faced by the youth immediately which may include unemployment allowance and the creation of jobs on a massive scale.

The news regarding the departure of more than 765 thousand people from Pakistan for employment opportunities in the current year has worried the country’s economic and social experts. This number is 300 times larger as compared to last year (2021). Experts say that if timely measures won’t be taken, the problem of ‘brain drain’ or the withdrawal of intelligent and talented people from the country will intensify. Among those who went abroad this time, a large number of highly qualified doctors and engineers went to the Middle East, European states, and even Africa. It is generally believed that the economic situation of the country is one of the main factors, which is forcing the youth and other Pakistanis to move to different parts of the world to relocate their future. Engineers, associate electrical engineers, doctors, computer experts, accountants, agricultural experts, and people from other fields are now preferring to secure their future abroad.

EAT News talked to an expert in economic affairs, Dr. Shahida Wazarat who claimed that the program by the International Monitoring Fund (IMF) is responsible for the economic crisis in the country. She told EAT News “When Pakistan goes to the IMF, it demands to devalue the local currency (PKR), due to this import of machinery and raw industrial material became more expensive, meantime, the interest rate increases which is resulted in an amalgamation of inflation and price hike in the country. The high markup rates are the root cause of the closure of industries and unemployment spreads, so these factors are forcing the youth to leave the country”.

During the conversation, Dr. Nadeemul Haq, head of the Pakistan Institute for Development Economics (PIDE), told EAT News, “We did a survey recently, in which more than 60 percent of young people are thinking of leaving the country. The number of youth under 23 years of age in Pakistan is around 130 million. Since 1992, we have been writing and drawing the government’s attention to the problem of people leaving Pakistan”.

However, some other critics castigated the concept of brain drain as they believe that the term brain drain is being misused here, in this particular scenario. Former Secretary of the Planning Commission of Pakistan Fazlullah Qureshi told EAT News, “Pakistanis going to other countries for employment which is also better for the local economy. The term brain drain is used when skilled people leave your country and there is a shortage in your own country, but that is not the case, we have a surplus population. So if Saudi Arabia, and Middle East countries ask for skilled human resources, indeed we will provide them”.

According to Fazlullah Qureshi, “Pakistani soldiers perform duties in international peacekeeping missions because we have surplus manpower. There are no adequate sources of employment in the country, so our people are going to other countries and sending back foreign exchange which is positive for the country”.

Social and economic experts believe that It is necessary for the government to provide new and better employment opportunities to the youth, to give a sense of security to the citizens so that they can play an active role in the development of the country by staying in Pakistan.