Pakistani American diaspora serves as a diplomatic asset in Pak-US bilateral ties. In the United States, the Pakistani diaspora numbers over half a million with the majority residing at major cities of the U.S. mainly New York, Houston, Washington DC, and Chicago. There exist strong people-to-people ties between Pakistan and the US. Moreover, around 10,164 Pakistani students are enrolled in higher education institutes of the US, with about 60% of Pakistani Americans holding bachelor’s degree, making Pakistanis ranked as second highly educated diaspora communities in the US. Pakistani diaspora in the US are working as entrepreneurs, engineers, doctors, artists, as well as taxi- drivers and the labourers. In the United States, the Pakistani diaspora has established 11 well-funded and effectively managed organizations and business networks including the Association of Pakistan Physicians of North America (APPNA) and Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America (OPEN), who are economically benefitting Pakistan and advocating Pakistan’s interest in the US policy circles. This influential Pakistani American community, which contributes through political, social, economic, and diplomatic support, can significantly shape the future trajectory of Pak-US bilateral relations. While, numerous factors constrain Pakistani Americans in consolidating their impact; through a coordinated approach to lobbying, narrative building, and economic engagement, the Pakistani American diaspora can enhance its ability to influence the US policy-making circles. Pakistani American diaspora holds the potential for effective lobbying within the US policy circles, advocating for enhanced diplomatic engagement.
One of the most tangible contributions of the Pakistani American diaspora lies in economic engagement. Remittances from the US amounted to $1.3 billion in 2022, making the US the fourth largest remittance-sending country to Pakistan after Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the UK. About a 0.3 percentage point increase in national income could be attributed to remittances from the United States, highlighting their economic significance. These remittances play significant role in stabilizing Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.
Beyond remittances, Pakistani American entrepreneurs, are strengthening trade ties. Pakistan’s IT sector exports over $2.6 billion annually, with several startups receiving investments from Pakistani-origin tech professionals based in Silicon Valley. Initiatives like Pakistani American startup accelerators, that establish a linkage between Pakistani entrepreneurs and the US-based investors, assist Pakistan’s tech industry to scale globally. According to the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), IT service exports grew by 47% from 2020 to 2023, highlighting prospects of future collaboration. Pakistani – origin professionals, based in Silicon Valley- can serve as conduits for knowledge transfer mentorship programs. Such linkages between the US technology ecosystem and Pakistani entrepreneurs are instrumental in fostering ties between Pakistan and the US
The Pakistani-American diaspora can exert its influence through trade advocacy, which involves lobbying for favorable trade policies, improving market access, and bolstering investment opportunities between Pakistan and the US. By engaging with the US policymakers, business councils, and trade organizations, the Pakistani-American diaspora can advocate reduction of trade barriers to promote Pakistan’s exports. Despite a bilateral trade volume of $7.3 billion in 2024, Pakistan’s access to the American markets remains limited as compared to other South Asian States like India, highlighting the need for stronger advocacy efforts. In pursuit of achieving favorable trade incentives, and to ensure Pakistan’s continued access to the US markets, the Pakistani-American business community could advocate for the waiver of the Competitive Needs Limit (CNL) provisions to maintain GSP benefits even if country approaches or exceeds the CNL thresholds. CNL sets a ceiling on GSP benefits for each product and country. The US can suspend GSP if imports of a single product from a beneficiary exceeds a specific value, $195 million per annum in 2020; or 50.0 percent or more of total US imports of a product entering under the GSP Program.
Relations between Pakistan and America have long been dictated by security concerns, sidelining developmental cooperation. However, Pakistani-American lobbying groups such as the Pakistani American Political Action Committee (PakPAC) strive to educate the US policy circles about the strategic relevance of Pakistan beyond counterterrorism. The Pakistan-US Green Alliance was taken by the Congress in 2023 with the help of Pakistani diaspora. In Trump 2.0, Pakistan could face heightened pressure on issues, like country’s cordial relations with China and its policy towards Afghanistan. However, Pakistani American diaspora through its advocacy platform, like Pakistan American Political Action Committee (PakPAC), can overcome these impending challenges by advocating for Pakistan’s national interests in the US policy circles. By strategic lobbying and effective engagement, PakPAC can strive for strengthening Pak-US bilateral relations, making efforts for enhanced cooperation beyond security concerns. Pakistani Americans are facing issues in consolidating their impact due to absence of coherent and unified diaspora lobbying strategy. Advocacy platforms could prove effective in enhancing role of diaspora in local political and civic spaces, advocating for Pakistan’s cause within the US policy circles. In conclusion, diaspora diplomacy has become significant in current times; however, Pakistani diaspora in the US still remains an untapped asset for Pakistan. Their economic contributions and political influence could be leveraged to nurture stable Pakistan-US relations. Internal divisions within Pakistani American diaspora often undermine efforts of diaspora community in shaping narratives within the US. Therefore, unified and effective diaspora lobbying strategy is required to project Pakistan’s soft image in the US and to advocate for country’s interests. Potential of Pakistani-American diaspora can be leveraged for ‘Rebranding’ Pakistan as an investor-friendly country. By doing so, diaspora’s sense of identity with Pakistan can be renewed- a strategy that both China and India have successfully employed with respect to their diaspora. In this way, Pakistan can turn its ‘Brain Drain’ into Brain Gain, presenting Diaspora community as valuable resource for strengthening bilateral ties.
This article was published in another form at https://thegeopolitics.com/pakistani-american-diaspora-a-diplomatic-asset-for-deepening-pakistan-us-bilateral-ties/
Ms Nawal Nawaz is Research Assistant at the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), Islamabad.
