Against a target of exporting one-million workers annually, Pakistan’s export of manpower has been to the level of just 372,000 during July 2022-May 2023 (11 months), which is one of the lowest-ever number of emigrants. Estimates for providing jobs abroad to the Pakistanis during the month of June are around 13,000. In comparison, Bangladesh has provided record ---the seven-year high overseas employment to 1,144,993 of its workers during the year ending June 30, 2023.
Against a target of exporting one-million workers annually, Pakistan’s export of manpower has been to the level of just 372,000 during July 2022-May 2023 (11 months), which is one of the lowest-ever number of emigrants. Estimates for providing jobs abroad to the Pakistanis during the month of June are around 13,000. In comparison, Bangladesh has provided record ---the seven-year high overseas employment to 1,144,993 of its workers during the year ending June 30, 2023.
Pakistan has a large pool of about 79 million workforce, the world’s 6th largest. Many workers, fueled by rising population, poverty, lack of employment opportunities, and also for having a better future, go to the Middle Eastern countries, Europe, Japan, South Korea, the USA and Canada every year. Historically, export of manpower remained erratic and low since achieving highest employment in 2015 when 946,571 emigrants, mostly skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers, left the country to earn their livelihood. Since then, the number of emigrants has registered a persistent fall in subsequent years, in the range of 496,286 (2017) to 288,280 (2021), lowest being 225,213 in 2020.
Exodus of a large number of Pakistanis for jobs however was again witnessed in 2022. As many as 832,339 Pakistanis registered with the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BEOE) and the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) during this period. It was for the first time in history that 19,976 highly-qualified persons, including 6,093 engineers, 2,464 doctors, and 1,004 teachers, according to official sources, opted for overseas jobs in a single year. The list includes another 20,865 highly-skilled professionals and technicians among emigrants that year. The main reason for the large-scale outflow of professionals, termed as "brain drain", was said to be economic downturn, highest inflation, lack of industrial activity, and political instability in Pakistan never witnessed before, besides normal reasons of intensity of unemployment and socio-economic issues in Pakistan, and seeking green pastures abroad.
Remittances of the overseas Pakistanis are the backbone of the national economy, which are even more than total exports of goods and services annually thus contributing largely to its foreign reserves. Remittances during July 2022 to June 2023 (12 months) have also declined to $27.024 billion, registering about 14% decrease compared to the last year’s $31.278 billion, which was the highest inflow of remittances since 2013. The declining trend of export of human resources reflects on abysmal performance of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development and organizations under its administrative control i.e. BEOE and OEC. The BEOE is responsible for processing recruitment demands for various job markets through employment promoters, whereas the OEC is the public sector recruitment agency.
It is ironic that the OEC did not recruit a single person for overseas employment from its inception in 1976 until the year 2019 as per the Bureau (BEOE) official figures for total export of manpower year-wise. The OEC has sent 673 in 2019, 508 in 2020, 1,632 in 2021, 2,790 in 2022 and 1,195 in 2023 (until May). Nonetheless the OEC claims that a total of 144,500 proceeded abroad for employment so far. Currently there are 382,118 job-seekers, including doctors, engineers and IT professionals, registered with the OEC. The Corporation however is engaged in development of human resources for overseas markets, and regularly conducts the Japanese and Korean language courses for the candidates.
Seemingly, there is significant demand mostly of skilled and unskilled workers from various countries though over a period of years we have lost the traditional markets of the Middle East, where Pakistan reigned for decades, to our competitors—mainly the Bangladeshis and the Chinese. On the other hand, the BEOE is not coping adequately with the demand primarily due to lack of policy framework for export of human resources and its inherent inefficiency. There are 116,826 jobs still available with the Bureau, including backlog since 2021, whereas the BEOE received a demand for about 13,000 jobs in July this year from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, South Korea, Malaysia and other countries. The long list includes various categories of construction and agricultural workers such as driver, mason, carpenter, plumber, electrician, mechanic, technician, barber, cook and domestic worker. Professionals required include civil engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, computer engineers, HVAC engineers, doctors, dentists, nurses and managers.
One wonders why these jobs are still available when 404,503 job-seekers are currently registered with the Bureau, and why then the emigrants adopt illegal means to go abroad through dangerous routes risking the lives. General perception is that the employment promoters discourage the jobseekers to go through official channels, and thus engage in nefarious activities of sending migrants illegally to make huge extra money. In past years many promoters were found to be associated with international gangs of human trafficking and smuggling. Out of 4,892 licensed overseas employment promoters, who are an integral part of the employment system, there are only 2,569 valid now, and, interestingly, no efforts are being made to register new promoters of credibility.
Inflow of foreign remittance from overseas Pakistanis is not proportionate to the number of emigrants gone for jobs abroad. Average yearly remittance by an overseas Pakistani is three to four times that of a Bangladeshi living abroad. Obviously, the remittances to Pakistan also include the money transferred by illegal immigrants working the world over, now including Israel too as reported recently in the press medium. Some years ago, it was disclosed at the National Assembly floor that around 75,000 emigrants go illegally every year to various countries. The recent tragedy of boat disaster, in which at least 300 Pakistanis drowned off the coast of Greece, has once again highlighted the severity of human trafficking from Pakistan. The issue has also exposed Pakistan’s migration problems amid the laxity of legal, regulatory and enforcement framework on migration, and the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development and its affiliated departments cannot be absolved of their responsibility.
The writer is retired Chairman of the State Engineering Corporation
