ISLAMABAD: Responding to a surge of fake posts advertising jobs in the UAE, Pakistan’s government issued a warning to its nationals seeking jobs in the Middle East.
Through a post on Twitter, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOPHRD) shared screen grabs of “fake” Dubai-based job adverts, advising people not to make any payments to the firms.
“Beware: Illegal Advertisement for Foreign Jobs. People are advised to not fall for these scams. Stay tuned for updates. Action initiated against the gang,” the MOPHRD tweeted on Monday.
According to the state-run news agency, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) had barred 12 foreign recruiting firms from hiring Pakistani workforce in June this year “for not ensuring the promised jobs, timely and agreed salaries, besides issuance of fake visas.”
In June this year, both Pakistan and the UAE agreed to set up a joint platform to facilitate overseas Pakistani workers.
Under the joint initiative, both countries agreed on the need for Pakistani workers to sign an ‘employment job offer’ with the UAE-based employer before moving to the UAE, in order to avoid any fraud and job scams.
According to official statistics, more than 1.6 million Pakistani expatriates live in the UAE and work in different public and private departments and the remit over $4 billion annually to the country.
Pakistan warns scammers against advertising fake jobs in the UAE
Pakistan warns scammers against advertising fake jobs in the UAE
- Says action against bogus recruiting agents has been initiated.
- Around 12 foreign recruiting firms were barred from hiring Pakistani workforce in June this year.
Hong Kong conglomerate plans to invest $1 billion in Pakistan to upgrade port infrastructure
- The development comes amid Pakistan’s efforts to boost trade and seek international partnerships to expand its maritime activities
- Hutchison Ports investment is expected to generate at least $4 billion in revenue over the next 25 years through royalty, rent and taxes
KARACHI: Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, plans to invest $1 billion in Pakistan to improve its port infrastructure, the Pakistani finance ministry said on Thursday.
The statement came after a delegation of Hutchison Ports, led by its Middle East & Africa Managing Director Andy Tsoi, met Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and briefed him about the firm’s 25-year presence in Pakistan.
Hutchison Ports has been operating two terminals, HPKICT and HPSAPT, in Pakistan and has contributed more than Rs225 billion ($804 million) in government revenues and provided employment to a workforce of 5,000 individuals, according to the port operator.
During the meeting with Aurangzeb, Hutchison Ports delegates presented their upcoming investment plan, aimed at upgrading their existing terminals to enhance operational efficiency, logistics connectivity, and automation.
“The investment includes infrastructure development, road improvements to facilitate efficient cargo movement, modernization of HPKICT into a cutting-edge automated terminal, and the development of a 52-hectare logistics park to enhance trade connectivity,” the Pakistani finance ministry said.
“The delegation highlighted that their investment is expected to generate at least USD 4 billion in revenue over the next 25 years through royalty, rent, and tax contributions.”
The automation upgrades will include remote quay cranes, electric trucks and digitalized gate operations, alongside training programs for maritime professionals in port operations, management and artificial intelligence (AI) applications, according to the statement.
Finance Minister Aurangzeb appreciated Hutchison Ports’ commitment to Pakistan’s maritime sector and acknowledged their significant role in boosting trade and economic activity.
“He reaffirmed the government’s support for strategic investments that contribute to Pakistan’s economic growth and infrastructure development,” the finance ministry said.
The development comes amid Pakistan’s efforts to boost trade and seek international partnerships to expand its maritime activities.
On January 22, South Korean shipping company, HMM, launched the India North Europe Express (INX) weekly shipping service in Pakistan, providing the South Asian country direct access to Europe.
The service, launched in collaboration with Ocean Network Express (ONE) container liner and Pakistan’s United Marine Agencies (UMA), will ensure timely and efficient delivery of Pakistani goods to the destined European ports and beyond, according to HMM.
Prior to that, Dubai-based logistics giant DP World, in collaboration with Pakistan’s National Logistics Corporation, launched in Jan. a feeder service to transport shipping containers from Dubai to Karachi, Pakistani state media reported. Pakistani officials and DP World have also finalized terms for a freight corridor project from Karachi Port to the Pipri Marshalling yard in southern Pakistan.
Pakistan is currently on a tricky path to economic recovery since avoiding a default in June 2023. The South Asian country last year secured a new $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and has been actively pursuing trade and investment opportunities to put the economy back on track.
Thousands attend funeral for senior Taliban-linked cleric slain in Pakistan’s northwest
- Hamidul Haq, the head of Jamia Haqqania seminary, was one of seven people killed in a suicide bombing a day earlier
- Haq was the son of the late Maulana Samiul Haq, who is considered a founding figure for the Afghan Taliban movement
AKORA KHATTAK: Thousands of mourners attended a funeral Saturday for a Taliban-linked cleric slain in Pakistan’s northwest.
Hamidul Haq, the head of Jamia Haqqania seminary, was one of seven people killed in a suicide bombing a day earlier at a mosque inside a seminary compound. Police said Haq was the target of the attack.
He was the son of the late Maulana Samiul Haq, who is considered a founding figure for the Afghan Taliban movement. Many Afghan Taliban have studied at Jamia Haqqania in the past few decades.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.
Authorities issued a photo of the alleged suicide bomber and urged the public to identify him, offering a reward of 500,000 rupees, or $1,787, for information on his name, parentage and place of residence.
Mourners packed into the main hall of the seminary for Haq’s funeral, with more praying on the street. The prayers passed without incident due to a heavy police deployment and seminary students guarding the venue.
The bombing at Jamia Haqqania seminary was one of four attacks in Pakistan on Friday, two of them at mosques, which were unusual both in their number and timing, just before the holy month of Ramadan.
KSrelief, WHO sign $300 million deal to fight polio in Pakistan, Afghanistan
- The deal was agreed on the sidelines of Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum
- It includes a series of preventive activities to eradicate polio in settlement areas
RIYADH: The Saudi aid agency KSrelief recently signed a $300 million cooperation agreement with the World Health Organization to develop a strategy for eradicating polio around the world.
The deal, agreed on the sidelines of the 4th Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum, was signed by Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the agency’s supervisor general and adviser to the Royal Court, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
It includes a series of preventive activities that will help eradicate polio in settlement areas in target countries, notably Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Pakistan reports sixth case of polio virus this year
- The latest polio case was reported in the Thatta district, which is the fourth case in Sindh this year
- Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains an endemic
KARACHI: Health authorities have confirmed another case of polio virus in Pakistan, the country’s polio program said on Saturday, taking this year’s nationwide tally to six.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of 5 is essential to provide children high immunity against the disease.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed the polio virus in a child in Thatta district of the southern Sindh province, according to the Pakistan polio program.
“This is the fourth polio case from Sindh and the sixth case from Pakistan at large this year,” it said in a statement.
“The polio program urges all parents to get their children vaccinated against polio at every opportunity to keep them protected from this devastating disease.”
Pakistan witnessed an intense resurgence of polio virus last year, with a total of 74 cases reported nationwide. Of these, 27 were from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 23 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
The South Asian country last month concluded its first nationwide anti-polio campaign of 2025, with 99 percent of the targets achieved, according to the polio program. The campaign, conducted on Feb. 3-9, vaccinated more than 45 million children.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains an endemic.
Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.
Pakistan launches Rs20 billion Ramadan relief package for needy families
- Development comes amid a decline in consumer inflation in the South Asian country
- But many Pakistanis say they are still feeling the pinch ahead of the start of Ramadan
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday launched a Rs20 billion ($71.4 million) relief package for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Pakistan, which aims to benefit 4 million families across the South Asian country.
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, wherein Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise till sunset for a month. The holy month begins in Pakistan on Sunday.
While consumer inflation in Pakistan declined to 2.4 percent in Jan., compared to 24 percent in the same period last year, many Pakistanis say they are still feeling the pinch.
The Pakistani government has decided to provide Rs5,000 ($17.87) each to around 4 million families across the country to support them during the month of Ramadan, according to officials.
“It is a great blessing of Almighty Allah that inflation has dropped down in this Ramadan as compared to the last year. This year, around Rs20 billion have been allocated for this package, which would benefit 40 lakh families,” Sharif said at the launching ceremony.
“This would cover the whole of Pakistan, all provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. This amount will be distributed among deserving people in all these areas through the digital [wallet] system.”
The development comes as Pakistan treads a long path to economic recovery after being stabilized under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program secured last year. An IMF mission is due to arrive in Islamabad next week for the first review of the facility.
Pakistan’s consumer inflation is expected to remain stable and maintain a downward trajectory compared to the previous year, the finance ministry said in its monthly economic outlook report on Feb. 27.
Sharif thanked all government institutions, international partners and tech companies for their efforts in distributing the funds among deserving families under the Ramadan relief package.
“All those tech companies, which provided their technical support in implementing this system, I thank them all,” Sharif said.
“I believe there are our foreign partners, also international partners, also sitting here. I would like to also thank them for their cooperation and partnership in this very noble cause.”
