Stop 🇵🇰 embarrassing yourselves, Sualeh Asif’s success has NOTHING to do with Pakistan
Stop Taking Credit for Sualeh’s Success, He Succeeded Despite Pakistan, Not Because of It!!
I’m seeing all these posts claiming Sualeh Asif’s $9.9 billion company success as a “Pakistani victory.” Let’s be honest for once.
The uncomfortable truth: Sualeh succeeded because he LEFT Pakistan’s ecosystem, not because of it.
Here are the facts everyone is conveniently ignoring:
His real success factors:
Born in Karachi? Yes. But educated at MIT in the US
Built his company in San Francisco, not Karachi
Had access to Silicon Valley investors and mentors
Worked in an ecosystem that actually supports tech innovation
Got world-class computer science education that Pakistan simply cannot provide
Let’s talk about Pakistan’s tech reality:
Remember Airlift? The “successful” Pakistani startup that even our PM IK tweeted about? Where are they now? Dead and buried.
Our education system is completely messed up, rote learning, outdated curriculum, zero innovation focus
How many billion-dollar tech companies have actually been built and sustained in Pakistan?
Most of our “tech success stories” are people who left Pakistan to succeed elsewhere
This is exactly like taking credit for Ali Abdaal’s YouTube success because he was born in Karachi. The guy became a successful YouTuber AFTER moving away from the Pakistani ecosystem.
The pattern is clear:
Pakistani talent + Foreign ecosystem = Success
Pakistani talent + Pakistani ecosystem = Struggle
What Pakistan actually gave Sualeh:
Birth certificate
Early years
Motivation to leave and find better opportunities
What actually made him successful:
MIT education
Silicon Valley environment
Access to proper funding
Mentorship from tech leaders
An ecosystem that rewards innovation
I’m not saying this to be negative. I’m saying this because we need to STOP fooling ourselves and START fixing our actual problems.
Instead of celebrating someone else’s success as our own, maybe we should ask:
Why do our brightest minds have to leave Pakistan to succeed?
Why can’t we build companies like Cursor HERE?
What are we doing wrong that forces talent to emigrate?
Bottom line:
Stop taking credit for success that happened DESPITE our system, not because of it.
If we really want to celebrate, let’s build an ecosystem where the next Sualeh doesn’t have to leave Pakistan to reach his potential.
Until then, his success is American, not Pakistani. Deal with it PLEASE 🙏
Originally posted on Facebook on 9 June 2025.
