In the first part of this series, we listed ten flagship national programs, from the Prime Minister’s Youth Council to Fulbright scholarships, and one thing was evident from the response: those are not the only game in town. Provincial governments also run their own youth schemes, often with larger budgets and less competition than federal ones. The international development ecosystem in Pakistan also operates a quiet parallel track of internships, fellowships and exchange programs through the UN, UNDP and other multilateral bodies. Most of these fly even further under the radar than the federal ones, as they are scattered across provincial department websites, UN job portals, and embassy press releases rarely seen by a national audience. This is the second of ten more – on Punjab, Sindh, U.S. exchange programs and the UN system – plus one bonus entry that didn’t fit neatly into the first ten, but is too competitive and too interesting to leave out.
01. Professional Fellows Program Exchange – Economic Empowerment
What’s Really Happening: A five-week exchange that pairs emerging leaders with small businesses in the United States to build entrepreneurship skills.
Who’s behind it? U.S. Department of State with partner universities. Annual cycle; check U.S. Embassy Pakistan website for current dates.
Eligibility: 25-40 years old, anywhere in the U.S.
What You’ll Actually Do: Hands-on placement with a U.S. small business, workshops on entrepreneurship and networking with American peers.
The Practicalities: Time: Five weeks. Local coordination with the U.S. Embassy, funded through the State Department exchange budget.
Official page: https://pk.usembassy.gov/scholarships-exchanges/
02. Professional Fellows Program – Governance and Society
What’s Really Happening: A two-way exchange for emerging leaders to share best practices in governance with American counterparts.
Who’s Behind It: U.S. Department of State. Annual cycle; see U.S. Embassy Pakistan website.
Who Can Apply: Nationwide, ages 25 to 40.
What You’ll Really Do: Placement with U.S. host organizations working in governance and civic issues, and a reciprocal visit component.
The Practical Details: Federally funded by the US government to develop leadership and cross-border governance networks.
Official page: https://pk.usembassy.gov/scholarship-and-exchange-program-opportunities/
03. CM Punjab MUN Training Program
What’s Really Happening: Model United Nations training to develop skills in diplomacy, public speaking, and negotiation among Punjab’s youth.
Who’s Behind It: Education Department, Government of Punjab. Open now, rolling 2026 batches.
Eligibility: Students/Fresh graduates from Punjab.
What You’ll Do in Real Life: MUN simulations, debate and negotiation training, communication workshops.
Other essential details: It will only cover Punjab. Supported by the provincial Education Department.
Official page: https://thecmpunjabmun.com/
04. CM Punjab Internship Program (CMIP)
What’s Really Happening: Paid internship providing unemployed youth of Punjab with real work experience
Who’s Behind It: Punjab Department of Youth Affairs & Sports. Rolling admissions.
Who can apply: Age Group 18 to 25, Residents of Punjab.
What You’ll Actually Do: Placements across government departments and partner organizations, gaining real workplace skills.
Practical Details: The Punjab government is funding 6,000 slots. Stipend: Rs. 25,000/month.
Official page: https://cmip.punjab.gov.pk
05. CM Punjab Global Rozgar Program
What’s Really Going On: Free BPO/IT and specialized technical training with foreign job placement assistance.
Supported by: Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) Open. Rolling admissions.
Who Can Apply: Age 16-40, varies by trade.
What You’ll Do in Practice: Trade-specific technical training and the opportunity to take advantage of the “Parwaaz Card” interest-free loan, usable for pre-departure expenses like visas and tickets.
The Practical Details: Coverage: Focus on Punjab Overseas employment. Supported by PSDF.
Official page: https://www.psdf.org.pk/global-rozgar/ (Parwaaz Card: https://parwaaz.psdf.org.pk)
06. Sindh Youth Card
What’s Going On: A one-window scheme offering Sindh youth access to scholarships, interest-free loans, skills training and travel concessions.
Who is Behind It: Sports and Youth Affairs Department, Government of Sindh. Not yet available for registration. Launching late August 2026
Eligibility: Residents of Sindh, 15-29 years (some sources say 18-35).
What You Really Do: Once registered, use your account to access multiple benefit categories based on eligibility.
Practical Details: Phase one involves 30 districts, 1 lakh youth. Funded by the Sindh Government.
Official page: https://sportsandyouth.sindh.gov.pk
07. Youth Education, Employment & Empowerment Program (YEEEP)
The Reality: A joint effort to educate, train, employ, and empower the youth of Sindh through bootcamps on e-commerce, freelancing, and social entrepreneurship.
Partners: Government of Sindh, UNDP Pakistan and Sindh Education Foundation. Still doing cohorts periodically.
Who can apply: General youth eligibility, based in Sindh.
What you’ll do: Structured bootcamps and training cohorts in digital and entrepreneurial skills.
The practicalities: 15,000 young people targeted in total. Funded by Sindh government and UNDP jointly.
Official page: https://yeeep.sef.edu.pk
08. Youth Empowerment Program of UNDP
What’s Happening: Support youth in conflict-affected areas to be positive agents of change in their communities through a multi-pronged approach.
Who is it by: UNDP Pakistan. Program in progress.
Who Can Apply: Standard youth eligibility.
What you will do: Community engagement, peacebuilding activities, and locally led development projects.
The Practical Details: Coverage: Conflict-affected areas of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan. Supported by UNDP.
Official page: https://www.undp.org/pakistan/projects/youth-empowerment-programme
09. UNDP Intern Program (Pakistan assignments)
The Reality: Go straight into the field with UNDP, working on poverty reduction and sustainable development projects.
Responsible: United Nations Development Program. Open all year round. Openings will be posted.
Who Can Apply: Students and recent graduates
What You’ll Actually Do: Lead project work in UNDP Pakistan country program with development professionals.
Details: Applications are submitted through the UNDP careers portal. Financed from the operational budget of UNDP.
Official page: https://www.undp.org/pakistan/jobs (global listings: https://jobs.undp.org)
10. UN Jobs Pakistan (UNICEF, UNDP & other agencies)
What’s Really Going On: A rolling hub of internship and early career listings across the UN agencies working in Pakistan.
Who’s Behind It: United Nations Pakistan (UNICEF, UNDP, and others). New listings posted frequently.
Who can apply: Students, graduates, and young professionals
What you’ll do in practice: Depends on the listing, anything from data analysis to field-based program support.
The Practical Details: Nationwide coverage. Each UN agency funds hiring separately.
Official page: https://jobs.undp.org (agency-specific listings via https://careers.un.org)
Bonus. IMF Youth Fellowship Program (Pakistan)
What it is: If economics and public policy are more than a casual hobby to you, this is the fellowship to watch. It is a competitive, capacity-building program that places a small group of talented young Pakistanis directly into the IMF’s Pakistan operations, rather than into a generic training cohort.
Who’s behind it: The International Monetary Fund’s Resident Representative Office in Pakistan, based in Islamabad. It is not based on a set calendar like Fulbright or the YES program – announcements tend to come out on an irregular basis, about once a year, so it pays to check in rather than waiting for a predictable window.
Eligibility: It is primarily aimed at young professionals and recent graduates, preferably with a strong quantitative or economics background. However, unlike some scholarship programs, the IMF does not enforce a strict degree requirement.
What you will do in reality: Fellows will get a firsthand experience of macroeconomic analysis and policy work with IMF staff – a level of access to real Article IV consultations, program reviews, and fiscal policy discussions that is rare for early-career applicants anywhere in the world, let alone in Pakistan.
The practicalities: The competitiveness here is worth sitting with, as the program has drawn more than 9,000 applicants since 2020 for what is, by nature, a very small number of fellowship slots. That ratio alone is more in line with a global graduate-scheme acceptance rate than a typical local internship. Fully funded, at no cost to the fellows.
Official page: https://www.imf.org/en/countries/resrep/pak
This list and the first add up to twenty-plus distinct pathways now on the table — but the pattern of all of them being held back from wider use is the same one that opened this series: distribution, not scarcity. Both the provincial youth card with 100,000 spots and the rolling deadline UN internship are, each in their own way, easy to miss if you’re not already in the right network or checking the right department’s Twitter account. Provincial programs, in particular, deserve more attention than they receive. Punjab and Sindh are moving real money and real slots through these schemes, often with less competition than the federal or international options attract. Like the first roundup, this is not a complete list; other provinces, university-specific fellowships and smaller multilateral programs didn’t make the cut for space, not relevance. Think of this as part two of a work in progress to centralize these opportunities — there’s more to come.
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