ISLAMABAD: As opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) movement to halt foreign remittances looms large, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday boasted about his government’s success to attract record increase in foreign remittances in December 2024.
Imran Khan, the jailed PTI founding chairman, has warned that he would urge expatriate Pakistanis to stop sending money to Pakistan –the latest chapter in a confrontation that dates to Imran Khan’s ouster as prime minister in 2022 – if his party’s demand to form a judicial commission to investigate the May 9, 2023 and November 28 incidents and release his party leaders and workers is not met.
In an obvious reference to PTI’s warning to block foreign remittances due to the party’s massive support from overseas Pakistanis, the Sharif administration claimed on Friday that the claims of those who had been chanting to halt the country’s economy had proved to be baseless.
Prime Minister Sharif, an arch rival of the ex-prime minister Imran Khan, who dubs it “politics of agitation,” boasted that foreign remittances during December 2024 increased to US$3.1 billion, up from November 2024, posting a month-on-month growth of 5.6%. He said that remittances witnessed a record growth of 29.3% in December 2024 against same month (December 2023) of last year. “Record increase in the foreign remittances reflects the strong commitment of the overseas Pakistanis for playing their role in development of the country,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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