Overseas Pakistanis have won this round. The Supreme Court has accorded them the right to vote. For now, this means casting their ballots in the upcoming by-elections as part of a three-year pilot scheme. This is a hard-fought victory. Though not everyone is happy about it. In the run-up to last month’s general elections, many had taken to social media to pooh-pooh laments by overseas Pakistanis about their lack of voting rights. The argument goes something like this: those who choose not to live here have no business electing a government with the power to introduce laws that they are not bound by. Fair enough. Except that according to the Ministry for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development statistics for 2013 — some 7.3 million people comprise this ‘community’. And an overwhelming majority, including manual labourers, send home remittances every month. Indeed, in July alone, this amount totalled $1.9b billion; a 21 percent increase from June and 25 percent up from the previous fiscal year. These inward cash injections represent the country’s second largest source of foreign exchange reserves after exports. They also contribute handsomely to the circular flow of income. All of which suggests that the Khan effect is already taking hold. The new Prime Minister has, of course, identified overseas Pakistanis as the greatest asset to the country and is encouraging more than a handful to return to work as government advisors. What is perhaps needed now is a rethink of the social contract between state and citizenry. Or, at the very least, initiating a national conversation about the many ways that denizens can serve Pakistan well. Economic contribution is clearly one of them. Yet instead of blasting expats for not having the wherewithal to come home and walk the talk — certain sections of society would surely do better to mobilise to enforce a system whereby everyone pays tax. Or else. For Pakistan would benefit considerably from a new adage: no representation without taxation. * Published in Daily Times, August 21st 2018.