ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Ghulam Sarwar Khan here on Wednesday said the government would facilitate private promoters to ensure maximum export of skilled and semi-skilled manpower abroad to reduce unemployment in the country.

Speaking at an Iftar-dinner hosted by Pakistan Overseas Employment Promoters, the minister said the role and contribution of private promoters to send 0.213 million manpower abroad last year was laudable. He assured that the ministry would examine the difficulties faced by the private promoters due to immigration laws.

Mr Khan said the selection criteria for community welfare attaches would be reviewed and in future selection would be made according to policy and rules with set targets to explore job opportunities in the host countries. He said welfare fund collected in the name of overseas workers in the embassies of Pakistan abroad would be used properly in future and overseas workers would soon realize the change.

The minister said all the promoters would be given equal opportunities to explore manpower in every country abroad, however, he assured that favour and concession given to any one promoter in the past would be done away with immediately as the government believed in fair play.

Transparency in all the attached departments of the ministry would be ensured to create a sense of responsibilities among the officials, he said.

Earlier, Pakistan Overseas Employment Promoters Association Chairman Rehmanul Haq in his welcome address said that private promoters had sent more than three million workers abroad so far. He said if the government patronized the private sector and made amendments in the immigration laws, which have already been indicated, the privet promoters could sent more than the set target of the government for the year 2004-05.

He also criticized the non-cooperative attitude of the community welfare attaches abroad and demanded that the trend must be ended without further delay.