<p>This study examines the motives, pathways, and consequences of higher-education mobility among Pakistani students, with a focused empirical investigation in Peshawar. The study employed a qualitative design comprised of FGDs, IDIs, and KIIs to elicit information from Pakistani students, consultants in the education sector, and policymakers. The study used thematic analysis, and identifies salient drivers of international study decisions, including educational aspirations, labor market considerations, social networks, and perceptions of institutional quality, while also highlighting the role of family expectations and socio-economic constraints. We situate these findings within push–pull theory and extend that framework by showing how local institutional factors and transnational social capital mediate push and pull processes. Thus, the findings support the assumption that the difference in educational quality between Pakistan and destination countries, along with academic and financial benefits, and career opportunities shape students’ migration decision. The results contribute to migration scholarship by linking micro-level decision processes to meso-level network and institutional factors and by offering policy-relevant implications for higher education stakeholders in Pakistan. This study offers the policy makers and the educational institutions in Pakistan and the destination countries ideas on how to tackle causative factors of student mobility and how to boost Asian international students’ participation. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the structural reconfiguration in the context of higher education and labor markets in Pakistan for meaningful retention of talented youth.</p>