Every Pakistani’s life ambition: To Flee the ‘Land of the Pure’

Tahir Mustafa

Safar 18, 1448 2026-08-01

News & Analysis

by Tahir Mustafa (News & Analysis, Crescent International Vol. 56, No. 6, Safar, 1448)

Why is every Pakistani so desperate to flee the country and what is preventing them from doing so? The second part of the question is easier to answer. The green passport is a major impediment for entry into any country even if the person has a valid visa. Endless questions invariably ensue upon arrival.

What is the purpose of your visit; how long will you stay and where? Who do you know in the country and how much money do you have? These are some of the questions almost every person travelling on a Pakistani passport faces upon arrival at the airport of any country.

Such questions may appear discriminatory—and they often are—but unfortunately Pakistanis do not have a good reputation. Immigration officers of host countries are aware of the desperation of Pakistanis fleeing their country.

Job prospects are low. Even if someone gets a job, the salary is not enough to meet the daily needs. Prices of food, fuel, electricity and gas have skyrocketed. Standard of education is low and health services are grossly inadequate. People are forced to seek private education for their children. Costs are high but not the standard of education.

Private schools and hospitals have flourished. They have become vast businesses without providing adequate services. Private hospitals often deliberately misdiagnose patients prolonging their stay to charge more fees. If a patient dies as a result of the medical staff’s negligence, it is attributed to “Allah’s Will”. There is no recourse to law to seek redress for malpractice.

Ordinary Pakistanis can be forgiven for attempting to flee. After all, they have little reason to stay when there is no safety, security or any prospects of decent living.

Further, there is lack of hygiene. Pakistani cities are like huge garbage dumps. Karachi, the country’s main industrial hub, offers a striking example. There are mountains of garbage everywhere. The stink is unbearable. Why are local authorities not doing the job of cleaning up the mess?

The elite—a bunch of parasites—live in gated communities away from the teeming masses on whose behalf they claim to rule. Their rapacious lifestyle would make the richest people in the world go blue with envy.

There is enduring culture of entitlement among the elite. This is reflected in such notions as the ubiquitous VIP culture. The rich and powerful consider themselves above the law and demand privileges such as elaborate protocol and free services.

They move about accompanied by a large entourage of hangers-on. When they travel, a long line of cars and SUVs accompany them on the already congested roads of Pakistan’s major cities.

They demand that everyone else must move to the side of the road for their caravan of cars to pass. The police are used as their private security detail. The number of cars in the caravan is supposed to reflect the importance of the person. This has given rise to such ludicrous notions as VVIP — very, very important person.

Despite these privileges, the elite have dual nationalities. America is the destination of choice but Canada, Britain, Belgium and Australia are also on the list.

In January 2025, a National Assembly panel was informed that more than 22,000 Pakistani bureaucrats have dual nationality. The list includes top bureaucrats occupying sensitive posts. Concerns about national security have naturally arisen but no action has been taken.

The same applies to members of parliament, judges and generals. Theoretically, the law prohibits dual nationality for officials in sensitive posts but who will apply it?

When asked about the armed forces personnel, the standard answer is, they cannot have dual nationality. It begs the question as to why, upon retirement, almost every army chief flees abroad. The most recent example is General Qamar Bajwa who retired in November 2022. Together with his family, he acquired massive properties in Belgium. When the vlogger, Ahmad Noorani revealed his family’s fortunes, his channel ‘Fact Focus’ was blocked.

Kamran Kayani, another ex-army chief General Ashfaq Kayani’s brother, defrauded the families of martyrs of plots in DHA Lahore. The younger Kayani was also an army officer. When a complaint was lodged before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Kamran Kayani fled to Australia. This led to rumours that his older brother had bought an island there.

There is an entire army of retired Pakistan army officers residing in Canada (apologies for the pun). They have bought choice properties in places like Barrie, Midhurst, and the Pakistanis’ favourite locality, Mississauga (west of Toronto). Where did they get the money to buy such properties?

The Pakistan army chief’s salary is about Rs 250,000 per month. True, he and his fellow officers get free housing, gas and electricity, free petrol, several batmen (servants) etc. Even with such privileges, it is not possible to buy a house in Canada. The average price is upward of $1 million.

It is obvious that these retired officers stole money from Pakistan. All their family members have visas to settle in Canada, the US, Europe or Australia. What favours did they provide in return for their families to get visas to settle in these countries?

There is a pattern to the Pakistanis’ escape from the country. The poor pay unscruplous agents to smuggle them in boats to Europe. Many end up losing their lives when their rickety boats capsize. Those with skills and education try to apply for a visa to the US, Canada or Australia. Some enrol in foreign universities hoping to settle there after completing the prescribed course.

In all cases, the aim is to get out of Pakistan, regardless of the means used.

One final point is in order. The parasitical elite treat the estimated 10 million overseas Pakistanis as cash cows. They send remittances to relatives that constitute the bulk of Pakistan’s foreign exchange earnings, surpassing even the country’s export income.

The rulers misinterpet these as ‘confidence’ in their policies. Overseas Pakistanis, primarily in West Asia (Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia etc), are forced to send money because of the astronomically high prices of food and fuel. Their remittances have nothing to do with their confidence, or lack thereof, in elite policies. Pakistan is a basketcase, forever seeking handouts from the IMF, Saudi Arabia and others.

If there were any justice in Pakistan, its prisons would be full of generals, judges, bureaucrats, police officers and politicians belonging to the People’s Party and Muslim League (N) starting with their leadership. Better still, these criminals should be publicly hanged and their bodies left hanging as a warning to other would-be criminals.