Jobs promised to expats returning from Gulf

Expatriates may be employed for Clean & Green Pakistan and similar projects

ISLAMABAD: With hundreds of workers working in the Middle East expected to return soon, the government has devised a plan to utilise this human resource in different welfare projects, including the Clean and Green Pakistan.

This was stated by Parliamentary Affairs for Overseas Pakistanis Secretary Javeeria Zafar Aheer on Sunday said that those people, who have lost their jobs while working in the Gulf region, can be accommodated in Clean and Green Pakistan, and other similar projects.

Speaking in a news programme, she said that the Tiger Force will compile data of these people for appropriate assignments.

She added that many countries have curtailed the staff working in the labour and construction sector in the wake of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

With the virus causing severe economic problems, Aheer said that Islamabad was tackling many issues to mitigate the sufferings of the people, both at home and abroad.

To a question, she said that the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis (MoOP) has developed a website for those facing problems while living abroad. She said that expatriates can log in to the website and have their genuine grievances addressed.

In response to another question about the impact of unemployment in the coronavirus-stricken countries, she said that the government can face a negative impact on its remittances because people working abroad used to send their money to Pakistan.

She appreciated the United Arab Emirates which had assured Pakistan that it will purchase tickets to send some 10,000 workers back who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic there.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2020.