According to the latest official data, more than 800,000 Pakistanis left the country in the past year alone, seeking jobs, education or permanent residence overseas. The figure is often cited as proof of an accelerating brain drain, a damning indictment of Pakistan's economy and governance. Social media amplifies this narrative daily, turning migration into both a trend and a badge of wisdom. Staying back, many argue, is foolish.

The reasons usually offered for this exodus are familiar and not entirely wrong. A precarious economic situation, shrinking job opportunities, corruption, security concerns and an overall bleak sense of future. For many young Pakistanis, leaving the country appears to be the only rational escape from a system they believe is rigged against merit and hard work. But is this the whole truth? Migration from developing or third-world countries is not unique to Pakistan. People across Asia, Africa, and Latin America have long migrated in search of better........

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