For many Pakistanis, Pakistan continues to be unsafe and lacking in economic opportunities. Faced with adverse circumstances, many such citizens opt for life threatening and risky journeys to European countries. The 2017 edition of the United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration (IOM) report indicates an upward trend in migration from Pakistanis through the Mediterranean into the European Union. While most of these migrants are from the Punjab, there are many from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Islamabad as well. The Central and Eastern Mediterranean routes are popular among Pakistanis seeking asylum and employment opportunities – the most frequently cited reasons in the survey are fear of persecution or violence, and search for economic opportunities. The study has found that only seven percent of migrants from Pakistan had received tertiary education, 23 percent had studied till the primary level, while 11 percent had received no formal education at all. The plight of Pakistani migrants can be gauged partly by the level of education they have. That most of the migrants are from Punjab, known to be more prosperous is another indicator of how far behind Pakistan is in providing its citizens a fair chance in life. Though the report does not offer country-specific figures of deaths during these journeys, it has found a sharp rise in deaths from 1.2 per 1,000 people in 2016 to 2.1 per 100 in 2017. It must be stated in no uncertain terms that the responsibility for the death of Pakistani migrants during these journeys lies squarely with those who have headed our state institutions over the years. These individuals’ decisions to migrate were taken in unfavourable circumstances not of their own making. Unfortunately, that continues to be the case. State institutions can absolve themselves of the responsibility only when they manage to address and undo the underlying reasons for these migrations. That is, they need to guarantee security to all religious and ethnic communities that constitute the Pakistani nation, and respectable opportunities to earn a living to all working-age citizens. Until that point, the authorities will remain in violation of the constitutional obligations towards the citizens. * Published in Daily Times, December 13th 2017.