THE question of equitable access to employment opportunities for the youth of Gilgit-Baltistan has long remained a matter of serious national concern. Endowed with exceptional physical endurance, discipline, and an ingrained culture of hard work, the region’s youth nonetheless face a stark paradox: immense human potential trapped within an economy constrained by geography, climate, and structural neglect.
Structural Constraints of Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit-Baltistan’s acute mountainous terrain, fragile ecology, and extreme climatic conditions have rendered large-scale agriculture and industrial development virtually unviable. Arable land is scarce, fragmented, and largely subsistence-oriented. Unlike other regions of the country, GB lacks industrial estates, manufacturing hubs, or private-sector employment ecosystems capable of absorbing its growing youth population.
Consequently, educated and skilled young men and women find themselves confronting a dilemma with few local remedies: either prolonged unemployment or outward migration in search of livelihoods. In such circumstances, overseas employment is not merely an option but a necessity.
Pakistan’s Expanding Overseas Employment Diplomacy
The Government of Pakistan has, in recent years, rightly prioritized overseas employment as a strategic pillar of economic policy. Through bilateral labor agreements and government-to-government arrangements, Pakistan has sought to open new labor markets for its workforce, thereby reducing domestic unemployment while boosting remittance inflows.
In this context, Pakistan has reportedly made notable progress in securing employment commitments from foreign governments, including a recent breakthrough with the Government of Italy, opening opportunities for Pakistani workers across multiple sectors. International media coverage, including a recent report by the VOA, underscores the significance of this development for Pakistan’s youth at large.
However, what remains conspicuously absent is any assured allocation or quota for Gilgit-Baltistan within these overseas employment frameworks.
Historical Exclusion and the Case for a Dedicated Quota
It is an established and unfortunate reality that, in the past, no specific allocation whatsoever has been earmarked for GB youth in overseas employment schemes. This historical exclusion stands in sharp contrast to the region’s severe economic constraints and limited domestic employment prospects.
Given these dire circumstances, equity and rational policy demand that Gilgit-Baltistan be treated as a special case, deserving affirmative consideration rather than uniform application of national averages that obscure regional disparities.
A dedicated overseas employment quota for Gilgit-Baltistan, administered through the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, would:
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Acknowledge the region’s structural disadvantages
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Provide lawful, dignified employment pathways abroad
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Reduce youth frustration and outward irregular migration
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Enhance remittance flows to one of Pakistan’s most economically fragile regions
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Strengthen national integration by addressing long-standing grievances
Linkage with Federal Job Quota Demands
The urgency of this demand finds resonance in the appeal made by the former Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, seeking enforcement and enhancement of job quotas for GB residents in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
That communication, reproduced above, vividly portrays the grim employment realities confronting GB youth and highlights how even constitutionally or administratively allocated quotas are often overlooked in practice. The logic underpinning that appeal applies with even greater force to overseas employment, where competition is fierce and access is mediated entirely by federal institutions.
A Matter of Equity, Not Concession
Allocating an overseas employment quota for Gilgit-Baltistan should not be misconstrued as a concession or favor. Rather, it is a measure of corrective justice, grounded in the principles of equity, inclusion, and balanced national development.
The youth of Gilgit-Baltistan have consistently demonstrated loyalty to Pakistan and have served with distinction in defense, law enforcement, disaster response, and other demanding fields. Providing them structured access to overseas employment would reaffirm the state’s commitment to leaving no region behind.
Conclusion
In light of Pakistan’s expanding labor agreements with foreign governments and the acute employment vacuum within Gilgit-Baltistan, it would indeed be in the fitness of things for the federal government to formally allocate a defined overseas employment quota for GB youth.
Such a step would not only alleviate economic distress in a land-scarce and opportunity-poor region but would also send a powerful message of national cohesion, fairness, and responsive governance—values indispensable for Pakistan’s long-term stability and prosperity.
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