Courting the best

Brain drain is a major problem for Pakistan. Every year, our smartest and most capable young men and women leave for greener pastures abroad. This is Pakistan’s problem in a nutshell. We live in an era where resources, especially labour, are highly mobile and countries compete for the best resources available. Pakistan is losing this competition. Just one look at our major economic centres in Karachi, Lahore or Faisalabad is enough to understand why no skilled and competent person would remain in Pakistan if he or she had the chance to go elsewhere.

Contrary to popular myth, Pakistan is not as blessed with natural resources as many would have us believe, once our population is taken into account. Our only and best resource is our people. To fix Pakistan, our policymakers must figure out what they can do to attract skilled and talented people to Pakistan, which would also enable us to retain our own talent.

Masooma Batool

Jhang