Pakistan has sent 70,000 workers abroad during past month, mostly to the Middle Eastern (ME) countries despite global recession and shrinking job market, Pakistan Overseas Employment Promoters Association (POEPA) said Wednesday. Newly-elected chairman of POEPA Chaudhry Muhammad Afzal speaking at a function said this step would help reduce unemployment in the country while ensuring decent life for dependants and will improve forex situation of the country.
He said that the POEPA introduced and imposed a uniform visa fee across the country, while the other charges were declared illegal which has improved the situation, adding that the step will enable and attract more skilled as well as unskilled labour to foreign countries for jobs.
While warning those promoters who are overcharging from the jobseekers, the POEPA chairman said people involved in such activities would face stern action that includes cancellation of their licences. According to Chairman POEPA, Pakistanis working in Middle Eastern (ME) countries were sending billion of dollars remittances per year, adding that only workers in Saudi Arabia's contribution is over $6 billion remittances per year.
Recipients of remittances were spending 22 percent on real estate, 18 percent on food, 17 percent on marriages and rest on miscellaneous expenses, he said. Every year expat Pakistanis are spending Rs 450 billion on real state, but this huge spending did not provide any revenue generation opportunity to the government.
The association called for an ambitious plan to boost number of expats which already has reached almost 9 million and such a big number of expat can play a very critical role in the country's development. The association said that job promoters can turn economy around by sending more manpower abroad but this is linked with the cooperation of the government. Afzal said that remittances are linked to reduction in poverty therefore this sector should be given attention as exports continue to dwindle despite best efforts.