In the major cities of Europe - from Lisbon to Madrid, Paris to Athens, Frankfurt to Warsaw - I have met Pakistanis as Uber drivers, restaurant workers and small shopkeepers. Some came to Europe a couple of years ago, and some have been around for well over a decade. Among the dozens I have spoken to, in Urdu and in my choppy Punjabi, not one dreamed of moving to Europe until the situation at home became unbearable. Not one ever shied to tell me their story. They all missed their families terribly - even if they had harsh things to say about the system that was built on privilege that they did not have. In my conversations with them, sometimes during a short taxi ride and sometimes over a long cup of coffee at a café, I got to see a different Pakistan. A parallel universe of sorts. A Pakistan that someone like me - who is male, Sunni and a Punjabi from a well-to-do urban........

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