Ayaz Sadiq urges Pakistani diaspora to use formal channels for home remittances.
Speaker, National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has urged the overseas Pakistanis to send home remittances through legal channels.
The present government gives expatriates a meaningful role in the nation building process, Sadiq said in a statement issued by National Assembly Secretariat on Tuesday. He was talking to a group of overseas Pakistanis in Birmingham on his official visit to the United Kingdom, the statement said.
“Overseas Pakistanis are our asset,” the Speaker said about the vital source of foreign exchange.
Pakistanis working abroad sent home $13.92 billion in the fiscal year 2012-13, the highest ever, he remarked.
In the first quarter of the current financial year of 2013-14 home remittances soared to $2.637 billion against $2.463 billion in July-September 2012-13.
“Overseas Pakistanis are Pakistan’s valuable asset and we will address their issues on priority,” Sadiq said.
More than 6.7 million Pakistanis are living abroad and sending home foreign exchange worth billions of dollars, he said.
He hoped that expatriates will play their role in the economic development of Pakistan.
Lauding the role of Pakistani diaspora, he said Pakistanis living in the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and various countries of the Middle East had the largest share in home remittances.
He urged the business community in the UK to divert investment to their country and play an effective role in the development of Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2013.
COMMENTS (12)
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@John the Baptist: Maybe you should also take a deeper look into the figures and ask yourself why over a million Pakistanis in the UK contribute less than does the community in the US who is hardly a tenth of the size. Let's ignore those people settled in Europe who are mostly asylum seekers and live on social assistance or at the poverty level doing labour work. The stark reality is that most UK Pakistanis live in ethnic ghettos on social assistance or doing menial work. They don't have money to send to Pakistan or invest. We all have relatives in the UK and visit there often. Also most UK Pakistanis like most UK migrants are largely excluded from social life and are poorly integrated. That has been identified as a troubling issue for decades which explains the crime, violence, extremism, dysfunctional families and many other social problems they face. Don't get mad at the messenger for pointing out the obvious: Namely UK Pakistanis should focus on fixing their own society and selves because they cannot be expected to help fix Pakistan. The main point I have is that Pakistani governments should stop thinking that the Pakistani diaspora is somehow going to fix Pakistan when the government should work to find a local Pakistani solution with Pakistani citizens to fix issues. The fact that the minister is terming the community in Birmingham an " asset" only shows he has no idea of how Asians in Birmingham live!
@Humayun: What asset? Refugees on state khayrat or doing menial jobs in Europe is hardly a big bonanza for the Pakistani govenment; Let these expats collect their welfare in the UK because now at least they aren't a burden in Pakistan! We know how these "assets" behave in the UK through news reports!
Expats Pakistanis are assets for all the crooks to be exploited and it's being done for all these years. Wake up fools and put your foot down and dictate your terms and demand at least same amount of respect that these beggars show to their masters.
@fuller Remittance is a positive thing ? at the cost of what ? you will like to have a house keeper, but you will feel shame being a house keeper. Regret is we can give this all to our land, but you are happy that golden goose is giving golden eggs. Only few might be working in silicon valley, rest are dying in deserts of Arabs and haven't seen their families for ages !. Statements like these from mouth of politicians is like salt on our wounds, they shall better invest their time to plan how can they make country better unlike Mr. Speaker telling us what we are doing. Good to see that you find many positives, no wonder politicians tell us that their government is doing good job may be these guys have same look as yours.
@John the Baptist: Overseas Pakistanis in the Middle East send money home since they intend to move home after a stint of work. After all no one wants to live permanently in any of the Middle Eastern countries. The overseas Pakistanis living in the UK are largely in ghettos living on social assistance which is like state welfare for poor people so they cannot be termed an asset. Have you ever seen how Asians live in Birmingham! The relatively small number of well settled UK Pakistanis cannot contribute much to Pakistan's development. Pakistanis in continental Europe are mostly all refugees who are just happy to get asylum because there is no legal immigration to most EU countries. As for overseas Pakistanis in North America, they are settled and their immediate concerns are with families where they are now at home. The only real asset Pakistan has are the citizens living in Pakistan and the diaspora in the Middle East who will be coming home with money and skills.
''Overseas Pakistanis are an asset'' --- But (stratitegic-) assets for whom?
Over 70% world terrorism somehow Pak(-Af).linked. In the UK the percentage is about 90%.
Osama-bin-Laden, Mullah Omar, Dr.Zawahiri, Daud Ibrahim etc with their numerous wives and children have established their Head Quarters (HQ) in Pakistan.
Pakistan's (stratitegic-) assets are in fact world's liabilities.
Everyone seems to be a bigger cynic than another. I guess our country men don't have any positive thinking. Everything done or said is taken as the most negative, or we work really hard to pick on the negatives. While other countries talk proudly of any statement that comes from their country leaders . We are just whining people now. You tell me I won a lottery, and I will emphasise on the tax applicable to the lottery and not how much I won. Our citizens are the biggest shame of our country projecting our country like dirt. Thank you everyone let's keep crying, it migh make us look better in front of others.
I will keep my money invested in UK bonds until votes polled by this Ayaz Sadiq-o-Ameen have been verified by Nadra with thumb verification!
Expat community an asset : I hope Mr. Speaker does not mean 'Fully Depreciated Asset'.
Look forward to some real faciliation at the Protectorate Office under Ministry of Overseas which does not add any value as such apart from being another bump when proceeding abroad on work visa.
I don't like these statements at all, I am an asset doesn't make me feel proud. I am working in some one else country as refugee. Please for love of God, even now you have chance to make things better, so that we can come back. Appreciate the talent that is leaving country for few bucks only.
Overseas Pakistanis are an asset but Mr Ayaz Sadiq is a huge liability