KARACHI: Remittances from overseas Pakistanis rose 16.5 per cent year-on-year and 0.7pc month-on-month in August, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on Wednesday.

The data showed that the inflows in August were $3.656bn, compared with $3.630bn in July and $3.138bn in August 2025.

Cumulatively, workers’ remittances rose by 14.7pc in the first two months (July-August) of 2026-27 to $7.3bn, compared with $6.4bn received a year ago.

The government seemed comfortable with the higher remittance inflows, but people doing business in Gulf countries expressed fears that Pakistanis are repatriating liquid assets back home amid war uncertainty.

Pakistan receives $7.3bn in first two months of FY27

“Sustained remittance flows remain an important pillar of Pakistan’s external account, supporting household incomes, foreign exchange liquidity, reserves and overall external-sector resilience,” Khurram Schezad, Adviser to the Ministry of Finance, said in a post on social media platform X.

“Pakistan received $3.66bn in workers’ remittances in August 2026 — up 16.5pc YoY. This takes remittances during Jul-Aug FY27 to $7.29bn, up 14.7pc YoY, building further on the record $41.6bn received in FY26,” he said.

The government has set a $44bn target for remittances in FY27, and the trend appears to be on track to meet the total for the current financial year.

“A war in the Gulf lasting more than 190 days has not only changed the region’s economy but also altered investors’ perceptions. There is no room to invest in the Gulf countries for now, as most of them are striving to withstand the shocks caused by the war,” said a Pakistani investor with investments in Dubai.

He said many Pakistani investors are stuck in the region due to the war and are trying to liquidate their assets to take them out of the region.

Inflows from the UAE in the first two months of the current fiscal year were higher than in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Remittances from the UAE in August were $749.8m, up from $642.9m in the same month last year, an increase of $106.9m.

Similarly, the inflow in July was $737.3m, compared with $665.3m in the same month last year, an increase of $72m. Cumulative remittance inflows in 2MFY27 increased by $178.9m.

Inflows from Saudi Arabia remained at the top of the list, at $873.5m in August compared to $736.7m in the same month last year, an increase of $46.8m.

Other significant inflows in August were $563.7m from the UK, $495.9m from EU countries, $308.9m from the US and $326.7m from the GCC countries.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2026