Data gathered from Germany, England and the US has revealed that the number of Pakistani residents applying for asylum in these three specific western countries have spiked over the course of last year.
Total number of Pakistanis who have sought refuge in these countries has risen to over 10,000, with Germany topping the list of asylum applications.
Data from the German interior ministry shows that 9,185 Pakistani nationals have applied for asylum from January to July 2016, which includes repeat applications from 156 people.
According to reports, the number is nearly a threefold increase over the same period in 2015 where 2,546 Pakistanis applied for asylum.
Germany is already sheltering half a million migrants, which is why majority of the applications are now being rejected.
Furthermore, Berlin turned away about 13,000 people, including 529 Pakistanis, at its land borders from January to July 2016 for having invalid documents.
The data released by the British Home Office this week shows that Pakistanis applying for asylum was up from the 2,313 to 2,992 in June 2015 to June 2016, with only 16 percent of the applications being approved.
The arrival of Pakistani refugees in United States has also peaked in 2016.
Data from the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration shows that as many as 376 Pakistanis applied for refuge in the country in 2016.
Majority of the asylum seekers from Pakistan are reported to be Ahmadis, followed by Christians, Hindus and Shias.
The problem dates back to 1984, when a survey conducted revealed shocking results that even then, 17 per cent Pakistanis had expressed their desire to settle abroad.
Another survey conducted earlier this year showed that two thirds of the Pakistan’s adult population wanted to settle abroad for work and more than half of which had no desire to return to their homeland.
UNESCO claims that the highly skilled migration rate of Pakistan has increased more than 60 per cent from the years’ 1992 to 2000. It is evident that Pakistan clearly has a brain drain situation that it needs to take care of.
via Geo News
