ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development has directed the overseas ministry to keep Pakistanis travelling abroad informed about the visiting country’s laws, visa conditions and consequences of violations, including drug-related and financial crimes.

The committee examined challenges faced by Pakistani workers abroad and measures required to improve facilitation, awareness and institutional coordination.

The meeting, chaired by Syed Rafiullah, was held in the Parliament House to review overseas employment trends, welfare issues and performance of Community Welfare Attachés (CWAs) posted in key destination countries.

The committee received detailed briefings from CWAs posted in the Gulf region, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. During the briefing on Kuwait, official informed the committee that employment opportunities there have improved following the resolution of visa-related issues.

The committee was told that a technical delegation helped resolve outstanding matters and that Pakistan had secured a significant share of new employment opportunities.

Members, however, questioned why issues persisted and emphasised the need to improve Pakistan’s overall perception and compliance record abroad. The committee stressed awareness, legal compliance and stronger institutional coordination to protect overseas Pakistanis.

The committee also discussed incidents involving fraudulent companies and deportations, underlining the need for stronger regulation and awareness among workers.

Briefings from Saudi Arabia (Jeddah and Riyadh) highlighted the scale of Pakistan’s overseas presence, with millions of Pakistanis residing in the Kingdom.

CWAs informed the committee about extensive welfare work, including handling labour disputes, securing end-of-service benefits, facilitating diyat cases, arranging repatriation of stranded or deceased workers, and coordinating with employers and local authorities.

The committee noted ongoing challenges related to succession certificates, iqama issues, education facilities, and competition from other labour-sending countries under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 framework.

Members sought clarity on labour market analysis, job targeting and engagement with employers under major development initiatives. The ministry informed the committee that reporting systems are being digitised to enable real-time analysis and that employment targets would be revised accordingly.

The committee was also apprised of progress on manpower export agreements, human resource expos, and business-to-business engagement with large construction and development firms.

The committee further reviewed briefings from UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), where CWAs highlighted welfare cases involving repatriation of deceased persons, prisoners’ issues, child-related matters and labour complaints. Members raised concerns regarding visit-visa misuse, territorial jurisdiction complications in white-collar crimes, and the absence of a government-to-government labour agreement with the UAE.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2026