ISLAMABAD:After a detailed briefing from community welfare attaches for Europe, the parliamentary committee demanded quick character and police verification for overseas Pakistanis.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, chaired by MNA Syed Rafiullah, met in the Parliament House to consider country-wise performance of community welfare attachés (CWAs) in Europe and to review implementation of the committee’s earlier directions.

The committee received mission reports from CWAs covering Italy, Spain and Greece and noted common operational shortcomings that require urgent remedial action. Members recorded concern at repeated instances of passport loss, inconsistent character-verification practices across provinces, delays in apostille processing and limited capacity for regular prison outreach. The chair underlined that facilitation must be matched by clear, accountable processes and verifiable outcomes.

On Italy, the mission reported a substantial Pakistani population. The mission confirmed progress on a bilateral MOU signed in 2025 and an allocation of 3,500 labour slots including 1,500 non-seasonal. The committee was apprised of continuing challenges: pending work visas, passport loss cases, including repeat losses, and verification backlogs in certain provinces notably Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the national status verification is not yet online.

The CWA for Spain informed that the station is working to regularise applicants targeting 20,000 regularisations among 140,000 Pakistani residents, but procedural hurdles remain — notably apostille delays, difficulties in obtaining national police bureau certificates, and problems with repeated passport losses.

The committee welcomed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plan for a one-window apostille operation to be developed with National Police Bureau and demanded an expedited timeline. Members also pressed for faster resolution of repatriation and death-case service queries.

In respect of Greece, members took note of a documented community of about 51,000 Pakistanis. The mission reported employer interest in agriculture, construction and tourism and a nursing-recruitment approach from an Athens medical group.

The committee noted the difficulty of securing minimum-wage protections for undocumented workers and sought a report from the ministry on the issues related to staff of Greece station.

The committee requested a list of CWA officers serving beyond authorised tenure and mandated that the ministry regularise extensions under framed rules. The committee asked the CWA in Spain to share details of 30–40 passport cases involving repeat loss and to take up the matter with the Directorate General of Immigration & Passports for remedial action.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2026