Young professionals flee crisis-hit Pakistan in search of jobs

KARACHI r e u t e r s

Tahir took a leap of faith when he left Pakistan four months ago in search of a better and more prosperous future in Canada even with no job lined up he made up his mind to leave as his homeland grapples with a worsening economic crisis that is driving thousands of young, educated workers to pack their bags

“I felt I needed a powerful passport and an escape plan if things go badly said Tahir a former education worker who is currently job-hunting in Toronto and hopes one day to attain dual Pakistani-Canadian citizenship

He asked to use a pseudonym to protect his identity

More than 800,000 people left the country to take up jobs last year, according to regulatory and monitoring body the Bureau of emigration and overseas employment, up from a pre-pandemic total of 625,876 in 2019, and 382,439 the year before that

M a n y m o r e l e a v e f o r e d ucation or other reasons and do not return

Devastating floods last year compounded Pakistan s economic problems, which include shortages of staple foods linked to a dearth of dollars and persistently high inflation that tipped 24 percent in January

Pakistan is struggling to quell default fears in domestic and inter- hence, the communique said that the Capital Police shall complete the process as per the law and recrcuitment procedures already in place and any recommendation shall not be entertained earlier, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Sardar Shahjahan had reportedly recommended 31 candidates to IG Islamabad Akbar Nasir Khan for appointment as constables in Islamabad Police

According to the official letter signed by Sardar Shahjahan Yousaf, the SAPM had recommended Muhammad Shakeel, Imran Ahmed, Wajahat Khalid, Muhammad Nazir, Muhammad Usman, Noman Ali, Muhammad Yasir, Muhammad Nazir, Hamza Shabir, Uzair rashid, Ishaq Khan, Anas Im-

pakistanis among 120,000 migrants passed through serbia in 2022

WASHINGTON a n a d o l u ag e n c y

Serbia registered more than 120,000 migrants, including Pakistanis, last year in asylum centres across the country, according to figures released on Monday A total of 124,127 migrants passed through centres run by the country’s refugee and Migration Commissariat, showed the latest report by the agency According to the latest statistical data while some migrants stay longer, others stay shorter, and the average stay was 16 days In 2021, the average length of stay was 30 days, and in 2020, it was 36 days,” said the statement There are 3,059 people in 17 centres at present, while only 10 people were granted asylum in 2022 with another 40 receiving other forms of protection Most of the migrants are from Afghanistan Syria Pakistan Morocco and India showed the data Serbia lies on the Western Balkan route frequently used by migrants to get to europe Serbian officials have repeatedly underlined that they have and will have a humanitarian attitude towards refugees but the country does not want to be a victim

punjab ombudsman inter venes to provide over rs22.5m relief to complainants

national markets, with a $1 1 billion bailout tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stuck due to differences over a programme review that should have been completed in November

As the government battles to alleviate the crisis, officials are also increasingly worried about the snowballing brain drain that could hamper the country’s eventual recovery

The huge exodus of educated youth is of great concern,”

Ahsan Iqbal, the minister for planning and development told Context “It is our responsibility to provide them an enabling environment to stem the emigration ”

The government has launched several development initiatives which it hopes will help retain talent, he added

They include establishing 200,000 paid internships for young engineers, a rs10 billion innovation fund and a rs40 bil- tiaz, Umar Habib, Muhammad Shakeel, Umar Shafiq, Muhammad Faraz, Muhammad Sajjad Hanzla Muhammad Nawaz Muhammad Munir, Muhammad Sajjad, Muhammad Zaheer, Muhammad Zahid, rashid Ahmad, Muhammad Khalid, Afaqul-Zaman, Muhammad Waqar, ehtisham Anwar, Muhammad Asif, Abdul rasheed, Muhammad owais, Zia ur rehman and Umer Asghar, Muhammad Ilyas who belonged to and Balochistan lion programme to develop 20 poor districts

F r u s t r at e d y o u t h : even before the current crisis, many young workers were keen to leave frustrated by a decline in purchasing power and limited opportunities to improve their standard of living

Almost one in three people in Pakistan aged under 30 would like to take a job abroad, found a survey carried out by polling firm Gallup Pakistan and its nonprofit subsidiary the Gilani Foundation last June before the floods struck

That rose to above 50 percent among university-educated youth, said Bilal Gilani, executive director of Gallup Pakistan

Tahir, the job-seeker in Canada, said his generation were worse off than their parents who were able to buy real estate, make investments and create wealth in decades past

LAHORE s ta f f r e p o r t

In the latest development, cumulative financial relief of rs22 5 million has been provided to applicants of Lahore and other districts who approached the office of the Punjab ombudsman for the payment of their pension, general provident fund, gratuity and other employment dues from provincial departments In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesman for the department said the ombudsman office has interceded for the necessary repair and maintenance of roads and cleanliness of sewerage lines in the areas of the applicants from Lahore Attock Mianwali Jhelum Jhang and Gujranwala districts This has helped in providing a neat and clean atmosphere to the locals, he added Alongside this, the spokesman reported the Jhelum municipal committee has prepared estimates of around two million rupees to repair the sewerage line of Madni Mohalla This step has been taken on the complaint of Abdul rahman of Jhelum who approached the ombudsman office to functionalise the sewerage line of his area

The plaintiffs have thanked the office of the ombudsman for protecting their legal rights