Pakistan: The story of Disillusionment
A Shattered Dream - Overcoming Obstacles and Charting a Course for Renewal
'No country has suffered a more heinous fate than Pakistan. On October 12, we felt the past was dead and gone. It hasn't even passed. What could possibly go wrong? How faulty can human judgment be? Will Pakistan ever reclaim its vitality and dignity, as well as its former glory? Will Pakistan ever become a more proud, self-respecting, and just country, one that is fully sovereign, passionately independent, and authentically democratic? Will our country ever achieve consensus on its essential beliefs, and will the people ever maintain and defend those ideals? Today, Pakistan is divided about whether the sun will rise tomorrow morning.'--Roedad Khan
Iqbal's dream may have taken a different path than we anticipated, with many Pakistanis now opting for a new destination code—UK over PK! Dreams, it appears, have an uncanny ability to navigate unexpected turns.
According to The Express Tribune, the emigration landscape in 2022 would resemble a migration marathon, with 765,000 Pakistanis leaving their home country for worldwide opportunities. This represents a big increase from the 225,000 departures in 2021 and the 288,000 departures in 2020. And it's not just any crowd; this year's data has 92,000 geniuses, including doctors, engineers, IT whizzes, and figure crunchers.
The Bureau of Emigrants spilled the beans, revealing that 2022 witnessed 765,000 youthful souls jet-setting abroad, breaking a two-year decline since the 625,000 emigrations in 2019.
The departing crew was a diverse bunch, featuring 92,000 graduates, 350,000 skilled workers, and an equal number of untrained laborers taking off. The Gulf states played host to 736,000 aspiring adventurers, making it a hotbed for job seekers.
Delving into the data, we find 5,534 engineers, 18,000 electrical brainiacs, 2,500 doctors, 2,000 computer wizards, 6,500 number crunchers, 2,600 agricultural gurus, and even 213,000 drivers on the list. That's one eclectic mix!
Over 730,000 young people went to the Gulf states, while nearly 40,000 went to Europe and other Asian countries. Saudi Arabia emerged as the job mecca, attracting 470,000 Pakistanis, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, and a few hundred courageous souls from Iraq, Malaysia, China, Japan, Turkey, and even Sudan.
Europe had its fair share of enthusiasts, with 3,160 sailing to Romania, 2,500 to the British Isles, and smaller groups sailing to Spain, Germany, Greece, Italy, and a courageous 700 sailing to the United States.
Surprisingly, 424,000 Punjab locals left the nest, accounting for more than half of all globetrotters. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal districts were followed by Sindh (206,000), Azad Kashmir (27,000), Balochistan (7,000), and Islamabad (6,000).
Zooming out, Pakistan has a young and vibrant populace, with 64% under 30 and 29% between the ages of 15 and 29, making it a youthful luxury. This vitality, however, appears to be spreading overseas, with many young minds hesitant to establish roots in their country.
What is the reason behind the enormous exodus?
The brain drain is serious, with 445,000 fresh graduates entering the job market each year and a shocking 31% struggling to establish their professional footing. Despite being in the top ten for skilled labor, Pakistan is experiencing a talent export due to a lack of possibilities.
Because of economic insecurity, political upheaval, and an unstable law and order situation, the departure lounge is becoming increasingly crowded. With nearly 11 million Pakistanis residing overseas, the demand for greener pastures is clearer than ever. It's past time for someone to rewrite the itinerary and make remaining in Pakistan an appealing journey for the country's brilliant and capable minds.
Fast forward to 2023, and the saga continues. In the first seven months alone, over 450,110 Pakistanis left their motherland in search of better chances abroad. The cast includes 12,787 highly qualified individuals, 26,405 highly trained individuals, 164,155 skilled workers, and a massive 198,000 unskilled Pakistanis. Last year's record-breaking migration of over 832,000 people continues to reverberate, reaching the largest figure since 2016. These figures, however, do not include those who travel internationally for educational purposes. The story progresses, and the obstacles persist, begging for a reconsideration of the homeland's attractiveness for its diverse and brilliant population.
The enormous exodus from Pakistan can be linked to a combination of economic, political, and social issues that, when combined, create an environment that pushes people to seek opportunities outside of their home country. Here are some of the main reasons:
Instability in the economy:
Persistent economic issues, such as high unemployment rates and restricted work options, motivate many people to look for better opportunities elsewhere. Individuals are typically motivated to seek jobs in more economically stable countries by a desire for financial security and greater living conditions.
Educational Disparities:
Despite a young and educated population, there is a mismatch between education-based skills and job-market expectations. Many find it difficult to obtain job that matches their degrees in Pakistan, forcing them to look abroad for suitable prospects.
Political Turbulence:
Political uncertainty and instability can diminish trust in the country's future. Citizens may seek more politically stable societies in which governance and institutions give security and predictability.
Security Concerns:
Insecurity can be exacerbated by ongoing security difficulties and a sometimes weak law and order situation. Seeking shelter in safer countries becomes an appealing alternative for those who prioritize their personal safety and the well-being of their families.
Lack of Opportunities:
There is a considerable gap between the number of graduates entering the employment market and the available opportunities in Pakistan. As a result of the consequent employment market saturation, many people are looking for opportunities in nations where their talents are in high demand.
Global Demand for Skilled Labor:
Global demand for qualified people, particularly in industries such as information technology, engineering, and healthcare, creates opportunities that may be more lucrative and professionally gratifying than those accessible locally.
Quality of Life:
Individuals seek countries that provide a more favorable environment for personal and professional advancement in order to improve their quality of life, which includes better healthcare, education, and overall well-being.
Network Effect:
In certain nations, the presence of established diaspora communities can produce a network effect, making it simpler for immigrants to assimilate and receive support. This, in turn, inspires more people to do the same.
Social Mobility:
The quest of social and upward mobility is a universal goal. Individuals may assume that in a new socioeconomic and cultural situation, they have a better chance of reaching their objectives and desires.
Globalization and Connectivity:
Individuals can investigate possibilities beyond their immediate surroundings because of increased connectedness and understanding of global prospects made possible by technology and communication.
Addressing these complicated concerns necessitates a diversified approach that includes domestic economic improvements, educational reforms, and attempts to strengthen political stability and security. Creating an atmosphere in Pakistan that encourages innovation and job growth is critical to halting the flow of emigration.
Pakistan is confronted with a number of issues that contribute to the country's complex socioeconomic and political situation. It is critical to recognize that these challenges are complex and intertwined. Among the most significant challenges are:
Political Instability:
Political unrest and governance difficulties have hampered long-term development and economic progress. Uncertainty can be created by frequent changes in leadership, corruption, and a lack of political consensus.
Pakistan faces economic issues such as rising inflation, trade deficits, and a sizable informal economy. These issues contribute to the population's unemployment, poverty, and lack of economic opportunity.
Security Concerns:
Ongoing security issues, including as terrorism and regional conflicts, have an impact on the country's stability. Security concerns can dissuade foreign investment, disrupt daily life, and contribute to the population's sense of unease.
Energy Crisis:
Pakistan is suffering from an ongoing energy crisis, with regular power outages hurting businesses, industry, and everyday life. This problem is exacerbated by insufficient energy infrastructure and poor management.
Education Disparities:
Despite progress, major discrepancies in access to quality education remain. The school system faces issues such as obsolete curricula, insufficient facilities, and a teacher shortage.
Water Scarcity:
Pakistan is experiencing water scarcity, which is compounded by causes such as population expansion, climate change, and ineffective water management policies. This endangers agriculture, an important economic sector.
Corruption:
Corruption is a widespread problem that impacts many areas, including politics, government, and law enforcement. It erodes trust in institutions, stifles economic development, and exacerbates social inequality.
Healthcare Challenges:
The healthcare system has difficulties in terms of accessibility, infrastructure, and service quality. Pandemics, such as the COVID-19 outbreak, demonstrate the importance of a strong healthcare system.
Infrastructure Deficiencies:
Inadequate infrastructure, such as transportation and basic utilities, stifles economic progress and lowers individuals' overall quality of life.
Social Inequality:
In Pakistan, there are significant socioeconomic differences, with certain communities enduring marginalization and limited access to opportunities. Addressing these gaps is critical for promoting social cohesion and long-term development.
It is critical to remember that these obstacles are not insurmountable, and Pakistan has made significant progress in a variety of areas. Addressing these difficulties, on the other hand, necessitates coordinated efforts, long-term planning, and collaborative initiatives from government, civil society, and the international community.
Addressing Pakistan's difficulties requires a concerted and sustained effort from a wide range of players, including the government, civil society, the commercial sector, and the international community. Here are a few essential tactics that could help bring about positive change:
Political Reforms:
Putting in place and maintaining political reforms to promote stability, good governance, and transparency. Long-term stability can be achieved by strengthening democratic institutions and encouraging political accountability.
Economic Diversification:
Economic diversification is being prioritized in order to lessen dependency on certain industries and increase overall economic resilience. Encouragement of entrepreneurship, assistance for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and promotion of innovation can all contribute to economic growth.
Investment in Education:
Prioritizing education changes in order to increase access to high-quality education for all. This includes upgrading curricula, investing in teacher education, and improving educational infrastructure in order to produce a skilled and competitive workforce.
Energy Sector Reforms:
Implementing energy sector reforms to overcome the chronic energy crises. Investing in renewable energy sources, boosting energy efficiency, and correcting mismanagement concerns can all help to provide a more stable energy supply.
Security Measures:
Continuing efforts to improve security and counter-terrorism measures in order to establish a stable environment for economic activity. Collaboration with regional partners to solve common security challenges can help to maintain regional stability.
Corruption Control:
Anti-corruption measures must be implemented and enforced in order to foster trust in institutions. Corruption can be combated by strengthening legal frameworks, enhancing transparency, and developing an accountability culture.
Water Management:
Creating and putting into action appropriate water management methods to handle water scarcity challenges. This includes investing in infrastructure, promoting water conservation measures, and implementing long-term water management strategies.
Healthcare Infrastructure:
Improving access to quality healthcare services and strengthening healthcare infrastructure. Investing in public health efforts and disease prevention can improve the population's general well-being.
Infrastructure Development:
Prioritizing infrastructure development in areas such as transportation, communication, and basic necessities. A strong infrastructure is critical for economic development and increasing inhabitants' quality of life.
Social Welfare Programs:
Targeted social welfare measures are being implemented to overcome socioeconomic inequality. These programs can help needy groups while also reducing inequality and increasing social cohesion.
International Collaboration:
Participating in worldwide cooperation initiatives to overcome common concerns. Seeking international investment, collaborating in regional initiatives, and cultivating diplomatic relations for mutual benefit are all examples of this.
Public Awareness and Participation:
Increasing public knowledge and active citizen participation in development. Involving citizens in decision-making processes and encouraging civic involvement can lead to more inclusive and effective governance.
It is vital to highlight that all tactics are interrelated, and a comprehensive strategy that takes into account Pakistan's particular situation is essential. Sustainable development necessitates a long-term commitment, and success is dependent on the combined efforts of all stakeholders.
"The recent of history of China, South Korea, Taiwan, and other Asian Tigers has shown that it is not possible to generate economic growth and cross the poverty line in an impoverished country without enlightened 'authoritarianism' and that only a strong hand can steer a poor country out of economic misery and chaos. Our own experience, on the other hand, has made it abundantly clear that without broad-based economic development, elimination of poverty, eradication of illiteracy, structural socio-economic reforms, and ruthless accountability, ballot-box democracy has no chance of survival, even with well-intentioned leaders, in any developing country. Talking about ballot-box democracy, Stalin used to say, 'It doesn't matter who votes or how many vote. What matters is who does the counting'. Many people in our part of the world have, therefore, great difficulty with the doctrinaire American approach to the promotion of American democratic ideals and what is called 'la pensee unique' — that is, the American-rooted ideology, holding that democracy is good for mankind everywhere at all times and under all circumstances because it is good for America. While this may understandably seem apparent to most Americans, the American experience hardly covers all social and economic scenarios worldwide, and thus extrapolating it to all oilier situations is both naive and hazardous.
It is not suggested that we in Pakistan are predisposed to live under an authoritarian government or that it is encoded in our genes or embedded in our Islamic culture as Huntington would have us believe; or that we are otherwise unsuited to democracy. All I am saying is that the obstacles to democracy, and they are quite a few, must be removed first and the terrain made more hospitable for the evolution of a civil society. in Taiwan and South Korea, democracy sprouted when per capita income reached about US$ 6000. China is likely to surpass this level by the year 2015 and, as Henry S. Rowen predicts, around that date, we are likely to see the emergence of democracy in China. If, therefore, it is correct that development engenders democracy, we in Pakistan have to attain a certain minimum level of development first and then wait for a critical mass to accumulate, a critical mass of people with democratic principles, a high quality of leadership, and a democratic culture, before we can hope to have a genuine democratic government. There is no other choice if we want to stop Pakistan from swinging between fake democracy and naked dictatorship, going from one extreme to the other as has been the case throughout the troubled history of our country.
Whatever be the ultimate shape of things, today Pakistan is hungry for a person who will light a candle in the gloom of our morale; who has a passion burning within him that will set our nation alight; who will be the standard-bearer of the disenchanted; who can give voice to our humiliation; who helps the nation recover its elan vital; who places country above self; who restores the process national revival; who gives the country a new agenda, one that does not replace one set of corrupt leaders by another; who offers the genuine hope of a new order to take us into a new millennium; who stitches the country back together; whose heart is in the right place; whose hands are clean and will remain clean; who restores the rule of law; who protects the citizen's honor, person, and property; a crusader against high-level corruption, who will purge the country of all corrupt elements, politicians, bureaucrats, both civil and military; who will bring the guilty, those who stole the Pakistan dream, to justice; who will bring back a sense of decency; who will raise the people from the slough of despondency; who will restore the people's faith in themselves, their rulers, and, above all, in their country; who will, as Burke said, 'tell the people not where they want to go but where they ought to go'; who will, as Mercier said, lance the poisoned carbuncle and clean the country of its mess: an essential condition for salvaging the democratic process; and who will 'seize the moment', give the country the 'lift of a driving dream', and drag the nation to its feet again. This is, of course, asking for the impossible. But pursuing the impossible and asking for the impossible is one good definition of a revolution. We live in an age of midgets. The public stage is filled by weak-kneed triflers, mountebanks, and charlatans, begrimed with corruption. But, as Percival Spear said, when the winds blow and the rains descend and the house is about to collapse, such men vanish in a night.
Is the dark. long night about to end? And has the time come for us to leave the valley of despair and climb the mountain so that we see the glory of another dawn? The darkest hour is just before the dawn and as generally happens in history, it is at the darkest hour that a bright star arises when you had almost given up hope. When a nation is in crisis, it needs a man to match the time. 'You don't create such a man, you don't discover such a man. You recognize such a man.' The times cry out for leadership. Cometh the how, cometh the man. The hour will find the man who has the will and the power to restore the Pakistan dream. 'La verite en marche.' The truth is on the march, and nothing shall stop it, and as Margaret Mead said 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has'. Addressing French cadets at St Cyr in 1921, de Gaulle said, 'Remember this lesson. History does not teach fatalism. There are moments when the Will of a handful of free men breaks through determinism and opens up new roads. People get the history that they deserve.' The longer the people allow the waters to rise, the greater the catastrophe that will follow the bursting of the dam.
Our moment of truth has arrived. To borrow the prophetic words of Dostoevsky, 'have a presentiment of sorts that the lots are drawn and accounts may have to be settled far sooner than one might imagine in one's wildest dreams.'"
Ah Love! could you and I with fate conspire
To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire,
Would not we shatter it to bits — and they
Remould it nearer to the Heart's Desire!
Omar Khayyam
Reference: PAKISTAN - A DREAM GONE SOUR ROEDAD KHAN, pages 171-173
This leprous day-break, dawn night's fangs have mangled
This is not that long-looked-for break of day,
Nor that clear dawn in quest of which those comrades
Set out, believing that in heaven's wide void
Somewhere the verge of night's slow-washing tide,
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
"To no country has fate been more malignant than to Pakistan. We thought the past was dead and gone on October 12. It is not even past. How wrong can one be? How flawed human judgment can be? Will Pakistan ever recover its élan vital and regain its lost dignity, its past glory? Will Pakistan ever convert itself into a more proud country, a more self-respecting and just country, a country that is truly sovereign, fiercely independent and authentically democratic? Will consensus on nation’s core values ever breakout in this country and will the people ever protect and defend those values? Today, Pakistan has trouble agreeing on whether the sun will rise tomorrow morning. "
Pakistan A Slave State ROEDAD KHAN Volume - 4. Page No. 304
Sources:
The best of Pakistani writers: Link
Five powerful books on Pakistan’s history, literature and modernisation: Link
YouTube Videos: The Pakistan Experience
Newspapers reports
The Express Tribune: Link
The Friday Times: Link
PAKISTAN - A DREAM GONE SOUR ROEDAD KHAN, pages 171-173
Pakistan A Slave State ROEDAD KHAN Volume - 4, Page No.304
