Last time I interviewed a political figure, who also happens to be a religious leader, about why many Pakistanis are seeking asylum in foreign countries and what prompts them to resort to such desperate measures, I was told that most of them instigate violence themselves and ignite the fury of others so that they can seek political asylum in foreign countries. I was so intrigued by this statement that I decided to look for asylum seekers and delve into their lives. I wanted to meet the people who could either refute or second the aforementioned claim; however, the facts were quite contrary to what many Pakistanis think.

The first set of people I met was from a Shia family who migrated from Pakistan four years ago under dire circumstances.

“We started receiving threats at the end of 2007. First they were just random letters thrown inside the compound of our house. Most of them were abusive, some were derogatory towards our faith but all of them had the same message which stated that we leave this country or else be responsible for the consequences,” said she on condition of anonymity.

“In the beginning we all thought it was some sort of juvenile prank. Then we started receiving phone calls from unidentified numbers and that is when we realised that the threats were real,” she added.

The other part of her narrative was tragic and beyond anyone’s worst fear.

“I still remember that day with clarity. It was a Sunday and my brother had gone out to run some important errands. He always rode a motorbike but that day he decided to go walking. He was shot dead outside a shop not that far from where we lived. He was the youngest and most pampered child of the family and his untimely demise changed our lives forever. You always think that such misfortune always falls on other people and somehow you always stay away from such things until the violence strikes your home. None of us knew how to cope with the loss. We all kept wondering why they chose him and not us. He had his whole life in front of him because he was so young,” she added.

“When the shock abated, we realised that if we had to survive, we would have to leave this country as soon as possible otherwise we would all meet the same fate as him,” she added with tears glistening in her eyes.

Her narrative made me wonder, was Pakistan only made for a singular Muslim school of thought and more importantly, who has the right to ask Shias or Pakistanis of other faiths to leave their own country. Pakistan is just as much a home to Ahmadis, Shias and Christians as it is to Sunni Muslims and nobody has the right to expel anyone from their homeland. However, expulsion continues to take place on gun point and many a time over the lifeless bodies of loved ones.

Quite evidently, religious persecution is not the only reason which compels Pakistanis to seek asylum elsewhere. Many a time, Pakistanis are forced to flee from their homeland because of their political affiliations or lack of the same.

The second family I met had migrated to Canada several years ago for the same reason.

“I was an active member of a leading political student organisation in Karachi when I was studying at Ayesha Bawany Government College located at main Shahrah-e-Faisal. I was a young boy full of ambition and ideals. We would hear speeches from our seniors or political leaders that we followed and would get exceedingly roused. They showed us dreams of a better future and somehow every word that they said sounded close to the truth at the time. However, as I grew older I realised that this was not what I wanted for my life,” said Ghyas* who now owns a small convenience store in Ontario, Canada.

“I grew up without a father and was the only male child in a family of three sisters. One fine day I just decided to leave the organisation but my decision didn’t sit too well with my seniors. First they tried to coax me into reversing my decision and then they blatantly threatened me. I was attacked and almost beaten to death and that is when I knew that I had to leave Pakistan. I came to Canada as a refugee with my family and got the permanent resident status after struggling to prove that my life was in danger back home for almost 10 months,” he added.

Most of the asylum seekers who leave Pakistan in hopes of a better and safer future reach there destitute or have meager funds which only last for a very small period of time. Regardless of their qualifications, most of them have to accept odd jobs and work at less than minimum wage until their resident status is approved by the immigration authorities.

“We had the most prestigious degrees from the top notch educational institutes in Pakistan but when we landed in Canada we had to work at a greenhouse on cash because we did not have a Social Insurance Number. We were six people altogether which included my 16-year-old baby sister as well. We worked from 8 am until 5 pm at a greenhouse in Leamington where many more like us were also employed for the same jobs. Those were the most arduous years,” said another asylum seeker from Pakistan.