Karachi, 2024. It started with a question every Pakistani has typed at least once.
Every month, the same WhatsApp message went out to cousins, uncles, friends of friends: “are you flying soon? Can you bring something?”
An iPhone from New York. Nike Pegasus from Dubai. A kitchen gadget described in three voice notes. The favors were free — but favors don’t scale.
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The same products sit on shelves in New York and Dubai for half the price. Local resellers mark them up by 200% and call it import duty. Pakistanis pay a geography tax just for being far away.
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