KARACHI: Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) President and Businessmen Panel of Federal of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Senior Vice Chairman Mian Zahid Hussain has said that the changing scenario in the Arab world has created uncertainty among the migrant workers and those dependent on their earnings.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mian Zahid Hussain demanded of the government to chalk out a strategy to safeguard its interests in the Arab world and that of the expatriates who are facing increased uncertainty.
He was of the view that almost half of the Pakistanis working abroad are in the Saudi Arabia who are sending billions of Riyals, therefore, they merit the attention of the authorities.
Almost half of the Pakistanis working abroad are unskilled while rest is labour and semi-skilled and the percentage of highly skilled workers is almost two percent which should be increased with the consultation of Pakistan Overseas Employment Promoters Association, he added.
The PBIF President said that such a step will not only increase earnings but also improve the country’s image and reduce unemployment.
The business leader said that government tries its best to improve exports by frequently announcing packages but the sector which is earning almost equal to the external sector without any investment is ignored.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the concerned ministry and departments are not considered important while the FIA treat licensed employment promoters as human smugglers which are never noticed. The FIA is supposed to take permission from Bureau of Immigration before raiding the premises of job promoters but it has never cared about it, he maintained.
He said that the ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development should start sending high-ranking delegations to potential countries where manpower is required and convince their labour ministers to take our manpower which will reduce unemployment and improve forex situation.
