Why do Pakistani youth feel hopeless:
➤What needs to change?
➤And why are they leaving their homeland behind?
Imagine a student walking out of convocation, holding a gold medal — and a rejection email. His phone rings. His cousin from Dubai just bought a car. He quietly deletes LinkedIn.
I don't write this as a journalist or a policy expert. I write this as someone who knows what it's like to wake up at 3 a.m. and wonder, "What am I doing here?"
But here's the truth:
Pakistan is not hopeless. It's just been run in a way that makes its brightest feel hopeless. The youth are not lazy. They are tired of being ignored, used during elections, and then forgotten. If we don't fix this soon, Pakistan will lose not only its youth, but its future. And no passport, degree, or visa can replace that.
We study for 16 years, get the degrees our parents dreamed of, then sit in our rooms, send out CVs and wonder why nothing changes.
These are the words of Bilal, a 23-year-old engineering graduate from Lahore. His story is not unique. It is in every small town, college hostel, and WhatsApp group full of young Pakistanis, asking each other, “What’s the point of living?”
It is a silent crisis. Not just unemployment. Not just inflation,but hopelessness. A slow-burning feeling that no matter how hard they try, nothing will change.
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A Generation Born With Dreams, Raised In Chaos:
Most young people in today’s Pakistan were born in the early 2000s. They grew up watching the country swing between terrorism and resilience, politics and propaganda. Many lived through blackouts, curfews, and YouTube bans — but also cricketing triumphs and cultural pride.
They were told to dream big. Become software developers, doctors, engineers. But when they finally stepped into the real world, the doors were either closed — or had a price tag their families couldn’t afford.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, more than 1.5 million people from Pakistan went abroad in 2023 alone, most of them under the age of 30. It’s not just a brain drain. It’s a flood of hope.
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Why Are They Leaving?
✦ No Jobs, No Dignity:
Even the most talented young Pakistanis are struggling to find decent jobs. The youth unemployment rate is close to 11 percent, and even when jobs are available, they often don’t pay enough to live with dignity. A software engineer can earn less than a delivery rider in the UAE. That hurts.
Take Hira from Peshawar — she topped her university in business studies but now works at a clothing store for Rs. 25,000/month. Her brother, a waiter in Saudi Arabia, sends back more than double that. Can we blame her for wanting to leave too?
✦ Merit Is Dead, Or So It Seems:
Every young Pakistani has either experienced or heard stories of a “recommendation culture” where connections matter more than ability. You can be smart, but if you “don’t know anyone,” you might get caught up in sending emails that never get read.
This constant injustice eats away at self-worth. Talent starts to feel like a curse rather than a gift.
✦ Education Is Out Of Touch With Reality:
The education system teaches what the market doesn’t need. Universities still focus on rote memorization, outdated curricula and grades. But the world is hiring for skills: AI, coding, marketing, data science. Many graduates leave Pakistan only to realize that their real education is just beginning abroad.
No one talks about mental health, and this hopelessness is also taking hold.
A study by Aga Khan University has revealed a startling increase in depression and anxiety among students and recent graduates. Suicide among young people, although underreported, is on the rise.
We are raising a generation that feels unseen, unheard and unappreciated.
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So, What Needs To Change?
Let’s be honest: young people don’t expect miracles. They want opportunity, dignity, and a chance, not favors.
❖ Create Real Job Pathways:
We don’t need more degrees. We need: Paid internships Freelance skills training (not just ads but real delivery) Support for startups, not just big businesses Government and private sectors should work together to absorb talent, not waste it]
❖ Fix The Sifarish System:
A transparent recruitment process, merit-based scholarships, and open access to information should be the norm. If a poor but intelligent kid from Gilgit can code better than someone from Islamabad, he deserves that seat.
❖ Modernize Education:
Old ideas must give way to practical, world-ready skills. Introduce critical thinking, real-life problem solving, and digital literacy early — not just in elite schools, but everywhere.
❖ Involve Young People In Decision-Making:
You can't lead a young country with old-fashioned thinking. Youth councils, digital voting, town hall discussions - these are not luxuries. They are tools of survival.
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A glimpse into the numbers The graph below shows an alarming increase in the number of people leaving Pakistan from 2020 to 2025. These are not just numbers; they represent young minds, skilled professionals and dreamers who have realised that their homeland can no longer offer them a future. The rapid increase reflects a deep national crisis rooted in unemployment, instability and hopelessness.
"ہم یہاں کے تھے، مگر یہاں نہ رہے"
The youth do not ask for peace. Only justice. Only dignity. If given a choice, most would still choose Pakistan.
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