800,000+ people left Pakistan of 220 million to took up jobs previous year, as per the regulatory and monitoring body the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, up from a pre-pand*emic around 625,876 in 2019, and 382,439 the year 2018.
Country is fighting to quell default fears in domestic and international markets with $1.1 billion bailout tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stuck because of difference over a programme review that should have been completed in November 2022.
As government is struggling to alleviate the crisis, officials are also worried about the snowballing brain drain that could hamper the Pakistan’s eventual recovery.
“The huge exodus of educated youth is of great concern,” Ahsan Iqbal, minister for planning, development and special initiatives, told Context.
“It is our responsibility to provide them an enabling environment to stem the emigration.”
