Pakistan’s implicit export strategy isn’t goods — it’s people. And the strategy continues. In a recent statement, the finance minister announced plans to train one million youth annually, priming them for jobs in Gulf economies, especially Saudi Arabia. The rationale? Pakistan’s skilled workers will power “Saudi Arabia’s transformation”, while the remittances they send back will help rescue Pakistan’s own faltering economy.

This policy begs three critical questions: Have we become a nation that equips its youth to build other economies? Has exporting people taken priority over exporting products? And most importantly, have we embraced remittances as our default economic strategy?

For decades, Pakistan has leaned on remittances as a current account stabilizer. But let’s not mistake a dependence model for strategy. These dollar inflows aren’t the result of industrial upgrades or strategic reforms. They stem from the steady outflow of our manpower, intellect, and talent.

According to the World Migration Report 2024, Pakistan ranks 6th globally in remittance inflows, receiving USD 30.2 billion - nearly 9 percent of GDP in FY24. In March 2025, monthly remittance inflows crossed USD 4 billion for the first time in the country’s history. If current trends hold, FY25 could close with an all-time high of USD 36 billion.

The statistics surrounding outward migration are staggering. In 2024, the number of Pakistanis leaving for overseas jobs jumped 69 percent from 2020. Nearly half of them were classified as ‘skilled labor,’ according to the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment. With the finance minister’s latest announcement, it’s clear: emigration is no longer market-driven — it has evolved into a national strategy.

Had the country prioritized skills training to boost domestic productivity and promoted a conducive job market, much of this brain drain could have been redirected toward wealth generation through productive activities.

The irony is that the impact stretches beyond the brain drain. Ample research reveals that while remittances boost household income and consumption, they also create a cycle of dependency, diverting demand and resources toward non-tradable goods. This drives up prices in non-tradable sectors and undermines export competitiveness - classic symptoms of Dutch disease.

While economists continue to debate the extent of this effect, Pakistan’s case is hard to ignore. Our analysis shows a clear negative correlation between rising remittances and exports-to-GDP, coupled with elevated consumption and imports. Meanwhile, human development indicators remain dismally low,........

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