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Pakistani expats in Gulf hail free remittance service at home

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Pakistani customers enters at a currency exchange shop in Islamabad on October 9, 2018. (AFP)
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A Pakistani dealer counts US dollars at a currency exchange shop in Karachi on November 30, 2018. (AFP)
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Updated 03 January 2020
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Pakistani expats in Gulf hail free remittance service at home

  • Pakistan Post will allow beneficiaries to receive their money at 500 designated post offices 
  • Service would be especially beneficial for over 5 million Pakistani expats in the Gulf region, official says
Updated 03 January 2020
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani expats in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) welcomed Pakistan Post’s new remittance service, which will allow them to send money back home free of charge. 

Under the scheme, expats can send any amount above $200 through a number of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) foreign partners. It will be delivered free of charge to one of 500 designated post offices across the country, Pakistan Post’s deputy director-general, Khawaja Imran Raza, told Arab News.

“We have to wait for months to send money through our friends to Pakistan, but now we will be able to do that every month. If the remittance receiver does not face delays or other hurdles, it will be a very successful scheme,” Arshan Khan, a Pakistani expat working at a factory in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, told Arab News over the phone.

Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the new service for overseas Pakistanis on Dec. 24, under the Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Ministry of Finance.
 It allows customers to collect foreign remittances without any fees. All they need to do is present their national identity cards, PIN codes, the expected remittance amount, and the remitter’s details.

Some diaspora members are wary, however, about the implementation of the service.

Ameer Muhammad, a Pakistani worker in Jeddah, expressed his doubts over Pakistan Post’s capacity to deal with this new challenge.

“Different exchange companies and banks used to provide good services to receivers as they are trained to deal with money matters, but I am not sure how Pakistan Post staff will deal with our families,” he told Arab News.

Pakistan has the sixth-largest diaspora in the world, with approximately 7.6 million of its citizens living abroad. Around 4.3 million Pakistanis reside in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

According to SBP, the central bank, in 2019 overseas Pakistanis sent $1.81 billion in remittances as of November. Inflows from Saudi Arabia alone amounted to $407.48 million, making it the largest remittance source. The UAE was second with $383.77 million.

“The success of the service depends upon currency exchange rates as well, it should be according to the market. If they (Pakistan Post) will not offer the same rate, then it would not be beneficial for us,” said Jahangir Abbasi, a Pakistani expat who has been living in Dubai for more than three decades.

Another Pakistani expat from UAE, who hails from Zafarwal, a small city in Narowal district in central Punjab, appreciated the initiative. “It is a good step for us as Pakistan Post is available in Zafarwal, so my family will get money near to our home instead of traveling 30-40 kilometers to receive it from Narowal,” he told Arab News over the phone from Abu Dhabi.

Rizwan Sohail, who returned from the UAE last year and runs a publishing business, said the new remittance service will be a great facility for Pakistani workers. “There are many Pakistanis in the UAE, who are working on low salaries so for them 20-30 dirham fees were not affordable. Now they can not only send money free of charge but also receive it at the nearest post office,” Sohail told Arab News over the phone from Lahore.

Pakistan Post plans to expand the number of post offices offering the service to 1000 within a year, informed Raza.

“We are using NBP’s software since it has 41 banks and other financial organizations as partners world over. Anyone who wants to send money will use any of these partner institutions and the money will be delivered to the family through the closest designated post office,” Raza said, adding that the service would be especially beneficial for more than 5 million Pakistani expats in the Gulf region since most of them are low-end workers.

“We have also installed biometric machines to meet the international standards and obligations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The biometric verification of every recipient will be performed through KYC (Know Your Customer) and CDD (Customer Due Diligence). In order to carry out these services, our NBP software is connected to the NADRA database,” Raza said, informing that these services would be performed by “postman mobile banker” through fingerprint-enabled mobile devices that would be used to deliver money at the beneficiary’s doorstep.

“We have already started the pilot project with 10 handheld devices,” he said, adding that the mechanism is expected to encourage overseas Pakistanis to remit their cash through legal means and will boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Topics: Gulf countries UAE Pakistan remmitance

Former foreign minister, serving chief minister among 14 indicted for attack on Pakistan army headquarter

Updated 9 sec ago
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Former foreign minister, serving chief minister among 14 indicted for attack on Pakistan army headquarter

  • Imran Khan supporters accused of attacking GHQ, other military installations on May 9, 2023, following his brief arrest in land graft case
  • Hundreds of PTI supporters and dozens of leaders were subsequently arrested while police registered cases against PTI party top leaders
Updated 9 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, key aides of jailed ex-premier Imran Khan, were among 14 members of his party indicted on Thursday in a case involving an attack last year on the military’s headquarters (GHQ).

The move comes after Khan was himself also indicted on Thursday on charges of inciting his supporters to attack GHQ on May 9, 2023, when Khan was arrested by the national anti-corruption agency in a land graft case. The arrest sparked a wave of protests by Khan supporters across the country, with rioters attacking important state buildings and ransacking military facilities, including the GHQ in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and the residence of the army’s top commander in the eastern city of Lahore. 

Hundreds of supporters and dozens of leaders of Khan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were subsequently arrested while police registered cases against the party’s top leaders, including Khan.

Following Thursday’s indictment, Qureshi spoke to reporters outside Adiala Jail, saying he was being “targeted for political revenge.” 

“I was in Karachi on May 9, not Rawalpindi,” Qureshi told reporters. “I say take mine and the prosecutor’s oaths on May 9 under Section 16 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.”

Besides Qureshi and Gandapur, Senate opposition leader Shibli Faraz, Shehryar Afridi, Kanwal Shauzab, Latasab Satti, Umar Tanveer Butt, Taimur Masood, Saad Ali Khan, Sikandar Zeb, Zohaib Afridi, Fahad Masood and Raja Nasir Mahfouz are other PTI members indicted today. 

On Monday, former human rights minister Shireen Mazari and eight others were also arraigned in the GHQ case, in which a total of 113 PTI leaders and supporters have so far been indicted.

Following Thursday’s indictment, Gandapur, Afridi and Shauzab filed applications under Section 265-D of the Criminal Procedure Code, which deals with framing charges against an accused. A hearing on the applications has been scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, at the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Adiala Jail. 

Should Gandapur appear in court tomorrow, his arrest warrant will be canceled, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper quoted the judge as saying. 

After Monday’s indictments against Mazari and eight others, the PTI had said in a statement to reporters:

“It’s good that things are going toward indictment … As the case goes to trial, then it will come out whether these accused people are actually involved, and they will get a way to fight these false charges through the legal and judicial system. Up until now, people were just being kept in custody and things were lingering on for a year and a half.”

Nearly 2,000 people were arrested following the May 9 protests and at least eight were killed. The government had called in the army to help restore order.

Though Khan was released on bail within days of the May 9 arrest, he was later rearrested in August 2023 after he was handed a three-year prison sentence in another corruption case. He has been in jail since then.

His party was barred from Pakistan’s election on Feb. 8, 2024, but the would-be candidates stood as independents.

Despite the ban and Khan’s imprisonment for convictions on charges ranging from leaking state secrets to corruption, millions of the former cricketer’s supporters voted for him. Independent candidates from his party won the highest number of seats but not enough to form a government on their own. Khan cannot be part of any government while he remains in prison.

Khan and his party say all legal cases against him are based on made-up charges to keep him out of politics at the behest of the army after he had fallen out with the military’s generals. The army denies the accusation.

Topics: May 9 riots May 9 protests Shah Mehmood Qureshi Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur

Pakistani PM condemns Israeli military actions at special D-8 session on Middle East conflict

Updated 20 min 25 sec ago
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Pakistani PM condemns Israeli military actions at special D-8 session on Middle East conflict

  • Shehbaz Sharif announces support for mediation efforts by Qatar and Egypt, calls for funding for war-torn regions
  • More than 45,000 people including women and children have been killed during the 14-month war in Palestine
Updated 20 min 25 sec ago
Falak Mahmood Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday condemned Israel’s “unrelenting atrocities” in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria, applauding countries like Egypt and Qatar for leading international mediation efforts to end the war in the Middle East.

Sharif was speaking at a special session called during the Eleventh Summit of the D-8 group of developing nations, which is taking place in Cairo this week. 

Health officials in the Gaza Strip have said the death toll from the 14-month war between Israel and Hamas has topped 45,000 people, with more than half of the fatalities being women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Israel has since launched attacks on Lebanon as well, killing over 3,000 after accusing Hezbollah of targeting its military. This month, it took control of Syria’s buffer zone and bombed key military and strategic assets after the overthrow of the Bashar Assad regime by opposition forces. 

“Israel’s deliberate and inhumane targeting of the people of Gaza and Lebanon, with intensifying savagery has resulted in a relentless massacre that blatantly violates international law, UN resolutions and ICJ directives,” Sharif said in an address to the special session, referring to Israeli aggression in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria. 

“Pakistan supports all international mediation efforts for an immediate ceasefire and for that, we deeply appreciate the efforts of Qatar and Egypt,” the PM added, calling for the provision of funding and aid for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and other war-torn areas.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions. 

Islamabad does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and has for decades called for an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Topics: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif D-8 summit

Pakistani ministry signs agreement with National Testing Service for selection of Hajj staff

Updated 19 December 2024
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Pakistani ministry signs agreement with National Testing Service for selection of Hajj staff

  • Pakistan selects hundreds of assistants via competitive process every year to facilitate local pilgrims
  • Pakistan has received 82,000 applications for next year’s Hajj pilgrimage under government scheme
Updated 19 December 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani ministry of religious affairs has signed an agreement with the National Testing Service, which will hold exams for the selection of supervisors and assistants for next year’s Hajj pilgrimage, the ministry said on Thursday.

Pakistan selects hundreds of assistants and doctors from federal and provincial government departments via a competitive process every year to facilitate local pilgrims in performing the rituals of the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. 

Pakistan had received 82,000 applications for next year’s Hajj under the government scheme by Tuesday when the submission deadline ended. Saudi Arabia has allotted Pakistan a quota of 179,210 pilgrims, to be divided equally between government and private schemes. The government extended the deadline for applications twice this month, first from Dec. 3 to Dec. 10, and then to Dec. 17, as it aims to fill over 89,000 seats under the federal government quota. 

“Like last year, this year too, the selection of Hajj Assistants who will be sent on Hajj duty will be done through National Testing Service,” the religious affairs ministry said. 

“According to the agreement, staff will be appointed on the basis of merit as per the federal and provincial quotas, in which a specific ratio of new and experienced assistants has been kept … Government employees and officers of Scale 7 to 18 will be eligible to apply.”

The ministry said it would “soon” announce the selection through an advertisement. 

The ministry of religious affairs trains Hajj assistants and pilgrims every year ahead of their departure to Saudi Arabia to ensure all aspects of the pilgrimage process, including food, transportation, and accommodation in Makkah and Madinah, run smoothly. 

Pakistan last year sent 550 Hajj assistants and 400 doctors and paramedical staff to Saudi Arabia to facilitate pilgrims.

Topics: Pakistan Hajj mission Hajj 2025

Pakistani president calls for greater parliamentary cooperation with Saudi Arabia

Updated 19 December 2024
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Pakistani president calls for greater parliamentary cooperation with Saudi Arabia

  • Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council is on three-day visit to Pakistan
  • Council is legislative body that advises the king and his regulatory authority
Updated 19 December 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday met Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council, and discussed enhancing parliamentary cooperation and high-level exchanges with the Kingdom.

The chairman of the Shura Council, a legislative body that advises the king and his regulatory authority, is on a three-day visit to Pakistan, during which he has met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and others.

“President Zardari has emphasized the need for enhancing parliamentary cooperation and high-level exchanges with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to deepen the fraternal relationship between Pakistan and KSA,” the president’s office said in a press release on Thursday after he met the visiting dignitary. 

“He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening economic, political, and cultural ties with KSA for the mutual benefit of both nations … both sides emphasized the need to transform the longstanding bilateral relationship into a more robust and strategic partnership.”

Zardari also expressed concern over the conflict in the Middle East, saying Pakistan stood in solidarity with “brothers and sisters” from Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are longtime allies, with Islamabad seeking closer economic, defense and security ties with the Kingdom, host to nearly 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates and the largest source of remittances for the cash-strapped South Asian nation.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Arabia ties Asif Zardari Saudi Shura Council

Pakistan says five killed, no information on missing as search ends in Greece boat tragedy

Updated 19 December 2024
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Pakistan says five killed, no information on missing as search ends in Greece boat tragedy

  • Report in Geo News says at least 40 Pakistanis killed in migrant boat tragedy off Greek island of Gavdos last week
  • Six cases filed against suspects accused of facilitating transport of victims from Punjab to Libya where they boarded boats
Updated 19 December 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s mission in Greece said on Thursday five Pakistanis had been killed in a migrant boat tragedy off the Greek island of Gavdos last week but it had “no concrete information” on how many of its nationals were missing.

The latest incident of the boat capsizing highlights the perilous journeys many migrants undertake due to conflicts and lack of economic opportunities in their home countries. 

In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos. It was one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea.

A report in Pakistan’s Geo News on Thursday said at least 40 Pakistanis had been killed in the latest tragedy, quoting the embassy in Athens. 

“So far, we have information of five dead Pakistanis and another 47 who have been rescued. No concrete information of missing persons is with us, and this is the final information available at this time,” an official at Pakistan’s mission in Greece told Arab News over the telephone, declining to be named.

“We are in contact with the authorities who have concluded their special search operation.”

The official added that regular patrolling would continue, and Greek authorities would inform the mission if any new information became available. He declined to comment on the Geo News report and referred Arab News to the foreign office. 

Speaking to Arab News, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the government had already released death toll figures and had no further information. 

“We cannot comment on people’s statements or claims regarding how many Pakistanis were on board until we receive evidence from the investigation,” she said in response to a question about the Geo News report that 40 Pakistanis were feared dead. “It is difficult to verify the claimed figure, as there was no official record of their travel.”

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered strict measures to combat human trafficking and demanded a detailed report on human trafficking incidents involving Pakistani citizens this year. 

Separately, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has filed six cases against suspects accused of facilitating the transport of victims from Punjab to Libya, where they were subsequently sent on boats to Greece.

Greece was a favored gateway to the European Union for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia in 2015-2016, when nearly 1 million people landed on its islands, mostly via inflatable dinghies.

Incidents with migrant boats and shipwrecks off Crete and its tiny neighbor Gavdos, which are relatively isolated in the central Mediterranean, have increased over the past year.

Topics: Greece boat disaster  greece boat accident

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