Karachi : Pakistan seems to be witnessing one of its worst-ever talent exoduses, with thousands of doctors, engineers and accountants leaving the country in just two years amid worsening economic turmoil and political instability. The reality has been laid bare by a recent government report, which said Pakistan has lost 5,000 doctors, 11,000 engineers, and 13,000 accountants over the past 24 months. It has prompted Pakistanis to ridicule the government and mock its army chief, Asim Munir, who recently tried to put a positive spin on the mass migration and called it “brain gain”.
However, hard numbers are undercutting the lofty rhetoric of Munir. The report was highlighted by former Pakistani senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar. “Fix politics to fix the economy! Pakistan is also the 4th largest freelancing hub and with internet shutdowns causing losses of $1.62 billion, has put 2.37 million freelancing jobs at risk,” Khokhar tweeted along with the emigration data.
The data, recently released by Pakistan’s Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, paints a grim picture. In 2024, 727,381 Pakistanis registered for overseas employment. This year, till November, 687,246 people have registered. What is concerning is the fact that the exodus is no longer limited to labourers seeking wages in the Gulf or “professional beggars” trying to sneak abroad.
The worst hit has been the healthcare sector. Between 2011 and 2024, Pakistan saw an unprecedented 2,144% increase in migration by nurses. The trend continued this year as well, according to a report by Pakistan’s Express Tribune.
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