Pakistan minus Pakistanis…Imran Jan
A caucasian American friend of mine during my university days in America was once talking to me about American foreign policy. The discussion went toward the topic of citizenship and life in America where he said something that to me at the time was quite bizarre. He said that he was an American citizen by birth but he had chosen to live in America too. He could choose to live elsewhere. With my Pakistani background where I grew up yearning to be in the land of opportunities, I wondered what sane minded person would decide against living in America. Many years later, I understood his point. There are many problems in America such as extremely high cost of healthcare, education, living, extremely high crime and so forth that can change ones calculus in deciding where to reside. However, the central idea to me now when I look back on that conversation is the decision on part of the citizens to agree to live in their country of citizenship.
It wouldnt be outlandish to argue that there is perhaps no connection between the state of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan. Sure, there have always been problems and people have always tried to leave Pakistan in search of better opportunities abroad. However, this time around it is not just financial, it is an accumulation of a number of factors that have left the people who reside in Pakistan as well as the overseas Pakistanis almost totally disillusioned about the harsh reality of their citizenship.
About a million people already left Pakistan in 2022. And most of those were educated and well trained people. The state of democracy has been downgraded to a level where the people not only cant find any connection with their government on paper, they do not even know where they stand in this ugly equation. What is even worse is the harsh realisation that the only entity that does not matter at all in this so-called democracy is their very citizenship. Pakistanis are living in Pakistan not because they choose to but because their passport, if they can afford to make one, is a guarantee of being denied entry into some of the wealthiest and advanced nations where their talents can be valued, respected and made good use of. It is not a citizenship by choice, it has rather become a trap due to the immense corruption of those who have the most power. When there is only a tiny sliver of the pie left for the rest of the society to munch on, then running away is the only way out of misery.
The Palestinians and the Israelis are fighting over the issue of the right to return. The Palestinians would perhaps love nothing more than gaining the ability to return to their land of origin. The Sikhs of India were overjoyed when they gained the ability of visiting their holiest site inside Pakistan after Imran Khans government created a passage specifically for them to visit. The Pakistanis living overseas do have the right to return, but what they have been robbed of is the desire and excitement to return. Many are not returning because the back-breaking inflation in Pakistan is forcing them to stay abroad so that they can keep helping their loved ones still trapped in Pakistan. Yes, I use the word trapped because given the opportunity, I believe more than 90% of the Pakistani citizenry would escape to distant lands in search of a better life.
Visiting Pakistan used to be an exciting activity. Not anymore. Many overseas Pakistanis have been outspoken about their support for Imran Khan. Given the current situation inside Pakistan, many do not feel safe due to what they have said on social media platforms. Many do not want to be in a country where anyone can do anything to them with absolute impunity. The saddest part isnt a state within a state. But rather a state without citizenry, a state with inmates living in an open air prison.
Courtesy The Express Tribune