igration is a global phenomenon; people leave their home countries and go abroad looking for a chance to improve their lives and the lives of their families. People commonly see migration as an opportunity to solve their difficulties, particularly their economic problems.

According to the World Migration Report 2022, published by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), there were 281 million international migrants in 2020 - 3.6 percent of the global population. The number of international migrants has significantly increased since the year 2000 when it was 173 million. There were 169 million labour migrants worldwide in 2019. The country having the largest proportion of international migrants is the United Arab Emirates.

Migration remittances are a good source of capital for developing countries. This is a very well recognised contribution to the economy of a country. $702 billion was reported as the amount of overseas remittances in 2020. Low- and middle-income countries received remittances worth $540 billion from this total.

Pakistan is one of the top exporters of labour in the region. According to the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment, there were 625,876 migrants from Pakistan in 2019. Due to Covid-19 limits, this number came down to 225,213 and 288,280 in the years 2020 and 2021, respectively. But as of June 2022, the number has already risen to 412,451, suggesting that it might surpass the 2019 figure. The main destinations for Pakistani migrant workers are the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates.

The State Bank of Pakistan has recently announced that the country’s remittance receipts for the fiscal years 2021–2022 were a record $31.237 billion. The remittances received in 2020–2021 were $29.449 billion; therefore, a 6.1 percent rise has been seen.

Return migration is a significant part of international migration. People who have worked abroad for years often return home to reunite with their families and to feel at home. However, reintegrating these returning migrants presents real challenges, particularly in developing countries. Economic reintegration of older people is more challenging and difficult.

Most young Pakistani labour migrants travel to Middle Eastern and Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman. They usually spend 15 to 20 years of their lives in these nations. By the time they return to Pakistan at the age of 50 or older, it is exceedingly challenging for them to find employment and a stable source of income.

Return migration is a significant part of international migration. People who have worked abroad for years often return home to reunite with their families and to feel at home. However, reintegrating these returning migrants presents real challenges, particularly in developing countries. Economic reintegration of older people is more challenging and difficult. 

It is critical to realise that Pakistani labour migrants, especially those from rural areas, only have one goal in mind when they decide to leave their native country: to travel to another country and send money to their families, enabling them to live comfortably.

If they are single, they generally take care of their parents and siblings. After some time, they return to Pakistan, get married, and then return to these countries because they now have more burden on their shoulders. These migrants then continue working and return to Pakistan every one to two years. They regularly send money back to Pakistan to support their families with costs related to food and other expenses, as well as the education of their children and health care of their elderly parents. They also make every effort to build their own homes.

As time goes on, their family’s expenses rise as children enroll in colleges and universities, and even if they want to return home, they are unable to do so because they believed there would be no job opportunities for them and that they would not be able to make as much money. As a result, they stay there for roughly 15 to 20 years, sometimes even longer. They return to Pakistan at the age of 50 and older because of their health and the employer’s policies. They find it very difficult to earn and have a good source of income at this stage of their life in Pakistan.

In Pakistani society, parents dedicate their lives to giving their children a good education and comfortable living circumstances; later, they anticipate that their children will provide for them as they get older. However, families are finding it harder and harder to care for elderly relatives because of rising unemployment and inflation, which adds to their stress and anxiety.

In comparison to the country’s overall elderly population, a very tiny percentage get pensions. There are reportedly 16 million old people in the country. Less than 15 percent of this group has access to a pension. There are only two pension schemes in the country, a tax-funded scheme for government employees and the Employee Old Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) scheme for employees in the private sector. Unfortunately, overseas Pakistanis are not covered in any of these schemes.

The returning migrants deserve a happy later life in their own country. They have helped the economy of the nation by sending remittances from overseas. The government, along with international organisations and the private sector, should introduce programmes and policies to facilitate the reintegration of old returning workers. These elderly individuals can serve as mentors and teachers to the younger generation in their respective trades. Additionally, it is vital that the government makes it possible for migrant workers to enroll in a pension plan so that they can get a pension in their later years.

The author is a communications specialist and a freelance writer, he is based in Rawalpindi and can be reached at: qureshiwaqas@gmail.com. He tweets @qureshiwaqasA