Skip to main content

Gulf employers not hiring Pakistanis due to ‘deplorable standard’

• Senate panel told Middle Eastern markets turning to Bangladeshis, other nationals for labour needs

• Secretary paints bleak picture, says around half of crime rate among UAE labourers attributed to Pakistanis



ISLAMABAD: The Senate Stand­ing Committee on Overseas Pakist­a­nis was informed about deplorable standard of Pakistani workforce, ma­­inly in the Gulf region, has led to the shif­ting of preferences by Gulf employers to hire workforce from other regional cou­ntries, such as Bangladesh, instead of Pakistan.



The Senate committee meeting, chaired by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, stressed that the government was ignoring the potentials available in this sector.



After facing criticism from members of the committee regarding failure of the government to harness potentials of Pakistani diaspora, the secretary of Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource De­­velopment, Dr Arshad Mahmood, presented a bleak picture of the situation of Pakistan labour force in Gulf countries.



He said that 50 per cent of the crime rate among the UAE labour force is reportedly attributed to Pakistanis.



The committee was further informed that UAE authorities have recently expressed concern over inappropriate behaviour of some Pakistanis in their country, which includes making videos of women in Dubai without their consent.



The secretary of the ministry said there was a declining trend in overseas employment for Pakistani labour force as despite modernisation and advancement in technology a significant portion of the Pakistani labour force remains unskilled.



The committee was informed that lack of resources and skill development of Pakistani labour force has resulted in replacement of Pakistani workers from other countries.



Dr Mahmood said that skilled labour force from countries such as Bangladesh serves as an inspiration and Pakistan needs to follow suit.



The secretary said that Pakistani diaspora includes 10.7 million individuals, primarily working in Saudi Arabia, UAE, US, UK and Canada.



The secretary apprised the committee that governments of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait have voiced reservations on various issues related to overseas Pakistanis.



The Senate committee was informed that in September last year, organised gangs of Pakistani beggars were found operating in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, who travelled to these countries as pilgrims.



Most of these people visit Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas and Saudi authorities have reported that 90 per cent of all beggars arrested in the country, were Pakistanis.



A committee member, Senator Nasir Abbas, highlighted the issue of Pakistanis living illegally in Iraq to earn a livelihood and questioned if the ministry can help them as they are often subjected to poor treatment.



Senator Zeeshan Khanzada said that a number of Pakistanis were living illegally in Italy, but they identify themselves as non-Pakistanis while Pakistan embassy identifies them as Pakistani citizens. He suggested that the ministry should play a proactive role and get a clear picture and also extend possible help to stranded Pakistanis.



Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2024


http://dlvr.it/TBHftq

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Student council oath-taking ceremony

Islamabad:The Millennium College hosted a Student Council Investiture Ceremony 2019 at its Flagship Campus, I-9/3, says a press release.The student council comprising of AS & A Level, IBDP program and IGCSE’s vowed under oath that they will be active and responsible members of the student executive council and will abide by the laws made by the college and the managing body to guarantee themselves and the student body a better campus life.Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi graced the occasion and inducted the School’s Head Boy Sarosh Atif and Head Girl Qirrat Ali as well as the Executive Council Members of all clubs and societies established within the school system. After administering the oath, Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi along with the Founder & Chairman The Millennium Education Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq, Director International Qualifications Azra Tahir and Principal of Millennium College, Campus I-9/3, Muneeze Muzzafar awarded sashes, badges and certificates to the members of the co...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pragmatic steps taken to implement Axle Load Control regime on NH&MP

Islamabad: Ministry of Communications has taken pragmatic steps to implement the Axle Load Control regime on Motorways & National Highways in the country. Sole objective of this move is to control travelling of overloaded vehicles which lead to fatal accidents besides damaging the national asset of road network of billions of rupees.Prior to implementation of axle load control regime, a technical committee was formed, consisting of officers from Ministry of Communications and National Highway Authority which remained in constant contacts with transport community, Members of the Chambers of Commerce and stakeholders hailing from all the provinces. This technical committee visited their offices and held detailed discussions in series of meetings and took them into confidence to facilitate implementation of Axle Load Control regime. The stakeholders assured of their full cooperation and subsequently, implementation of Axle Load Control was realized which is in progress.It is worth to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

UN awards 2 Pakistani female peacekeepers for gender advocacy

The United Nations has awarded two Pakistani female peacekeepers with the Gender Advocacy Award for their “outstanding performance”, a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. In a statement issued on Thursday, the ISPR said the awards were presented to Major Sania Safdar, part of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus, and Major Komal Masood, who served in the Central African Republic, “for their outstanding performance and commitment in promoting the ideals of UN”. The accolades were presented by the under-secretary general in the UN’s Department for Peace Operations at its New York headquarters. “While serving in [an] international environment, both officers demonstrated exceptional professionalism [and] dedication,” the ISPR noted. It added that the two peacekeepers “made [a] significant contribution to Mission’s Peace and Stability efforts, especially with regards to advancing women’s meaningful participation in Peacekeeping Operations within the ...
Post a Comment
Read more