ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development on Wednesday refused to buy the ministry’s claim that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not imposed a ban on Pakistani workforce.
Moreover, as more overseas Pakistanis have returned home than those who have gone abroad, committee directed the ministry to take steps aimed at sending them back to overseas or adjust them in jobs within the country.
The committee, chaired by PML-N Sheikh Fayyazud Din, was held in a committee room of the Parliament House. Agenda of the meeting was to discuss the sufferings of the overseas Pakistanis due to Covid-19.
A representative of the ministry, while briefing members, said that there was no ban on export of Pakistani workforce to UAE as officially announced by UAE Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation Mr Nasser Bin Thani Al Hamli.
The Committee was informed that 76,968 Pakistani workers, registered with the portal of Overseas Employment Corporation, had returned to Pakistan since the outbreak of the pandemic. Out of which 29,419 were from UAE and 34,731 from Saudi Arabia.
Officials informed the meeting that usually 25,000 Pakistanis return home annually after their contracts expire and around 70,000 go abroad as a workforce.
However, due to pandemic more people lost their jobs and returned to Pakistan and fewer people went abroad.
Mr Sheikh, while talking to Dawn, said that he had directed the ministry to make arrangements for sending returning Pakistanis abroad again or adjust them within the country so that they could earn their bread and butter.
“The committee showed no trust on the claim of the ministry that there was no ban on the export of Pakistanis to the UAE. On one hand, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfikar Bukhari says that there is no ban on the export of Pakistanis to the UAE but Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says that the ban will be lifted soon and he has visited the UAE in this regard,” he said.
“The committee believes that the issue should be addressed at the earliest and that is why the ministry has been directed to submit a detailed report in this regard,” Mr Sheikh said.
Meanwhile, the committee was informed that a memorandum of understanding was signed between Overseas Pakistanis Foundation and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur International Zusammenarbelt on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development for technical assistance for establishment of Pak-German Facilitation and Reintegration Centre to support returning Pakistani workers.
While discussing the agenda pertaining to the performance of Community Welfare Attachés (CWA’s) in Saudi Arabia and Gulf Countries, the secretary of ministry showed satisfaction over their performance, though performance evaluation policy regarding CWA’s are being finalized with in a week.
Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2020
