Over 800,000 Pakistanis left the country in one year. What drives so many to flee?
Survivors of the fishing boat that went down in the Mediterranean Sea with around 750 people on board slept in a hall in the port city of Kalamata in Greece on June 14. Photo: Thanassis Stavrakis, AP/NTB
sea view
Imran Wazir (23) and Abdul Salam (25) had had enough of life in Bandli in north-eastern Pakistan. They decided to leave their family in the hope of a better life.
Late one evening in March, they embraced their parents before embarking on the longest journey of their lives. The journey that lay ahead of them was several hundred miles. Along the way they crossed four countries.
The families had no idea that was the last time they would see Imran and Abdul alive, says Abid Kashmiri, the young men’s cousin The New York Times.
Drowned in the Mediterranean
A few months later, the family received the shocking news: the two young men were among more than 300 Pakistanis who perished in the boat disaster in the Mediterranean on June 14.
This was one of the worst migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean. An overcrowded boat with around 750 people on board sank. Only 104 men and young people have been found alive. The boat, an old fishing trawler, was on its way from Libya to Italy.
Locals report that around 28 of the passengers on board were from Imran and Abdul’s hometown, Bandli. The city is located in a lush, green valley along the border with India, in the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir.
About 10,000 people live in Bandli. The city has a long history of young men emigrating abroad. Most families now have at least one son working in them The Gulf or Europe.
Imran Wazir (left) and Abdul Salam (right) pictured before embarking on the perilous journey from Pakistan to Europe. Photo: Abid Kashmiri
The shipwreck in the Mediterranean was one of three major incidents recorded since February in which refugees and other migrants from Pakistan have lost their lives at sea.
Last year, a record number of Pakistanis left the country in search of a better life. What is driving so many Pakistanis to flee?
New and more dangerous route
Young people from Pakistan are trying to escape their homeland by taking risky, illegal routes to Europe.
An employee of Pakistan’s Federal Bureau of Investigation says to AFP that at least 40,000 such illegal journeys are attempted each year.
Before, Pakistanis who wanted to go to Europe went through countries such as Iran, Turkey and Greece.
But now many of these countries, including Turkey, have introduced stricter border controls. Therefore, many migrants from Pakistan have now changed their route.
– Many try to reach Libya and go on from there by boat, says a human smuggler who works at the border with Turkey to Aftenposten.
– The escape routes have changed in the last year. Pakistanis and Bangladeshis no longer travel overland to Europe – they fly to Libya via detours, he says.
People carry the coffin of Muhammad Ali (21) in Bhojpur town in Gujrat district of Punjab province, Pakistan. Ali was among those killed when a boat with migrants sank off the coast near Benghazi in Libya on March 7, 2023. Photo: Akhtar Soomro, Reuters/NTB
Record high migration
Figures from the Immigration and Labor Office of Pakistan show that 832,339 Pakistanis left the country in 2022. This is the highest figure since 2016.
And the trend shows no signs of abating in 2023. The latest data shows that almost 200,000 people left the country in the first three months of 2023.
The actual number of people leaving the country is much higher. That’s because the data only covers work visas, says Ahmad Jamal to the Japanese newspaper Nikkei. Jamal works as an immigration lawyer in the Pakistani city of Quetta.
Jamal adds that many categories of emigrants are not included, including those departing on permanent residence permits, student visas and family reunification visas.
Sana Hashim (29) works in a digital marketing company in Islamabad. She is one of the many thousands of highly qualified workers who want to move from Pakistan. At the same time, Hashim is worried about leaving his family.
– I have applied for a few positions in the Middle East and have been called to a few interviews, Hashim adds German wave.
Why do so many people travel?
One reason why many people want to travel is the economy in Pakistan.
The inflation in Pakistan is the highest level ever measured in the country. The prices of most goods are 38 per cent higher than at the same time last year. The prices of vegetables, beans and chicken have risen the most.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, this is the highest inflation in South Asia. It pushes millions of Pakistanis who used to belong to the middle class into poverty. The economic crisis hits them hard.
Petrol prices have also skyrocketed. Pakistani truck drivers, such as Muhammad Afzal, are considering moving abroad. In a normal month, he earns 80,000 rupees, equivalent to NOK 3,000.
– The transport industry has been hit hard. It’s hard to survive. Honestly, there are many people like me who are considering working abroad, he says to Aftenposten.
Prices are rising, among other things, because the government has increased taxes and fees. It is a requirement that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set in order to provide new crisis loans to Pakistan.
People wait their turn to get a free sack of wheat flour in Peshawar, Pakistan. Due to high inflation in the country, the government of Pakistan gives out free wheat flour to poor families and others in need. Photo: Muhammad Sajjad, AP/NTB
Instability and historical flooding
The IMF requirement also meant that the authorities had to tighten their budgets sharply at the beginning of the year.
Several thousand factories in Pakistan have stopped production because the authorities had to tighten up on the import of raw materials.
Several factors have contributed to Pakistan’s economic crisis:
The country has for many years been characterized by political instability and poor economic management. This has led to widespread corruption and inefficiency.
In addition, there are higher energy prices and the devastation after the historic flood that left large parts of the country under water last year.
Across generations
Quetta lawyer Ahmad Jamal, who handles dozens of migrants every month, says many of his clients are middle-aged or elderly.
– It is incredible that an increasing number of people at a relatively old age are seriously looking at the possibility of leaving Pakistan because of the security and economic problems, he says to Nikkei.
One of those who has already left is Mina Khan. She lives in the United Arab Emirates, where she has started her own business.
– Everything from security to the economy are factors that drive young people like me away from their home country, says Mina Khan to Aftenposten. She believes there is no future for her and her family in Pakistan.
Pakistan, where a third of the population is under the age of 14, has a population growth rate that is among the highest in the world.
However, the number of jobs cannot keep up. The combination of increased unemployment and the ongoing economic crisis is also causing many Pakistanis to see for job opportunities abroad.
2023-07-02 09:20:07
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