Senate Committee reviews OPF payment delays

OPF needs to adopt better strategies to expedite the resolution of cases says Senator Rana Mahmood ul Hassan

ISLAMABAD:

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development was held at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Manzoor Ahmed Kakar on Thursday.

Matters relating to payment delays by the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) and other concerned agencies to the families of Pakistanis who died abroad were brought into discussion with the Director General OPF briefing the committee on the relevant details.

DGOPF stated that the Overseas Pakistani Foundation has so far recovered Rs5.44 billion from concerned agencies for 8,140 Pakistanis who had died abroad and given the monies to their families. He added that this year we have recovered Rs850 million for the families of the deceased persons.

The Standing Committee was informed that during the last five years 1,369 cases were successfully resolved and 6,587 cases are still under process with 95% of all cases arising from Pakistanis living in Saudi Arabia.

The DGOPF stated that the foundation only acts as a facilitator for expats and delays in cases are usually caused by the difficulties faced by bereaved family members in obtaining a succession certificate.

The Committee was informed that there are three types of assistance provided to the bereaved family. They receive Rs4 million from the concerned department abroad, Rs0.4 million from OPF while the Bureau of Immigration Insurance contributes Rs1 million.

The Committee was further informed that the current pending amount of 2,131 cases is Rs850 million. It was requested that if the Ministry of Finance could provide these funds altogether, they could be disbursed to the bereaved survivors expeditiously. The committee put forward a request to the Ministry of Finance to disburse these funds altogether.

Senator Rana Mahmood ul Hassan said that billions have been recovered but trillions have yet to be recovered adding that the OPF needs to adopt better strategies to expedite the resolution of cases to facilitate immediate assistance to bereaved families.

Chairman Committee said that people working abroad are playing a key role in the development and prosperity of Pakistan and solving their problems should be our top priority.

Senator Sherry Rehman pointed out that thousands of overseas Pakistanis have been imprisoned for committing petty crimes adding that despite having served their sentences they are languishing in prison due to a lack of funds.

The Standing Committee was informed that there are 9,200 Pakistani prisoners in jails all over the world, majority of whom are imprisoned in Saudi Arabia and Dubai for murder, drugs and other crimes.

Senator Manzoor Kakar retorted that details of those imprisoned for minor crimes should be provided and steps need to be taken for their expeditious release according to legal requirements.