Since the 1970s the Persian Gulf has drawn hundreds of thousands of Pakistani labour migrants, primarily working in construction, agriculture, and transport sectors. Historically, the majority of Pakistani male migrants have ended up in two countries: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. While most Pakistanis in the Gulf come from the Punjab, the most populous of Pakistan’s provinces, over the past decade other ethnic groups like the Pathans from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have been seeking jobs in the region. Pathan migrants represent a particular sub-national profile, as many of the Pathans who come to the Gulf tend to be from remote rural or mountainous parts of the Khyber Pahtunkhwa, where there are fewer opportunities for paid employment and families largely depend on subsistence farming. The tribal belt in particular, which is heavily underdeveloped and has recently suffered heavily as a result of political instability, conflict and any-terror military operations, has also served as key geographic location of outmigration. The substantial outmigration of tribal Pathans substantiates existing literature that suggests a strong correlation between economic and political instability at home and overseas migration. This paper is the outcome of fieldwork that was undertaken in Pakistan, and draws on interviews that took place at a day-long focus group held in the rural outskirts of Islamabad in May 2017. The focus group brought together approximately forty male Pakistani citizens, many of whom were Pathan, some of whom were considering migrating for the first time, others who were in the pre-departure stages and were waiting for the finalization of their visa and job contracts, as well as several return migrants who had completed their Gulf migration journey. The group discussions focused on a number of key themes but primarily highlighted on the experiences of migrants while navigating the recruitment process and also their experiences of living and working in a host state in the GCC. While the opportunity to earn higher income in the Gulf continues to attract Pathans to the region, the dependency generated through this system, and the fact that their remittances play such a critical role in the wellbeing of their extended families, often means that these migrants are willing to pay exorbitant sums of money to find a job in the Gulf, and willing to also endure difficult and harsh working and living conditions once in the host state.