ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called on the country’s diplomats to improve their services and support to overseas Pakistanis, a state-run news agency, Associated Press of Pakistan, reported.
The prime minister’s address to the envoys comes days after his office initiated a formal inquiry against the country’s embassy in Riyadh, suspended the outgoing ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and recalled several members of staff following complaints by expat Pakistani workers in the kingdom who said their embassy had mistreated them.
“It is unfortunate how we (embassy staff) deal with overseas Pakistanis. This is unacceptable. It cannot go on in this way during the current era. The embassies were duty-bound to serve the diaspora,” Khan said in an online conference with Pakistani ambassadors and chiefs of foreign missions.
“Overseas Pakistanis are our major strength. Pakistan is running on their remittances,” the PM said. “If they would not have been remitting, the country would have gone toward bankruptcy.”
Despite the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdowns across the world, Pakistani workers’ remittances in March 2021 increased by 43 percent $2.7 billion compared with to the inflows in the same period last year.
The increasing inflows last month prompted Khan to thank to thank the foreign workers for the “record-breaking remittances.”
“You sent over $2 billion for 10 straight months despite COVID, breaking all records. We thank you,” he said. “The love and commitment of overseas Pakistanis to Pakistan is unparalleled.”
The inflows came mainly from Saudi Arabia, standing at $5.7 billion, the United Arab Emirates at $4.5 billion, Britain at $2.9 billion, and the US at $1.9 billion, according to central bank data.
PM Khan urges Pakistani diplomats to improve services to expats
https://arab.news/n6xzx
PM Khan urges Pakistani diplomats to improve services to expats
- PM’s call comes in the wake of inquiry against the country’s embassy in Riyadh over complaints by expat Pakistani workers
- Without remittances from overseas workers, the country would have run into bankruptcy, PM Khan says
Pakistan cricket chief says boycott of India match aimed at restoring Bangladesh’s dignity
- Mohsin Naqvi says Pakistan sought to highlight Bangladesh’s grievances in World Cup dispute
- His comments come a day after Pakistan reversed decision to boycott the Feb. 15 India clash
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s decision to briefly threaten a boycott of its Twenty20 World Cup match against India was intended to highlight what it saw as unfair treatment of Bangladesh and to press for the concerns raised by Bangladeshi officials to be addressed, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Tuesday.
Pakistan withdrew its decision a day earlier to skip the Group A clash scheduled for Feb. 15 in Colombo, ending a week-long standoff with the International Cricket Council (ICC) that had drawn intervention from several member boards amid fears of disruption to the tournament.
“Our objective was only to ensure that Bangladesh was treated with dignity and that the injustice done to them was highlighted,” Naqvi told journalists in Peshawar. “You saw that whatever points Bangladesh raised were accepted. That’s it. We had no personal agenda of our own in this.”
Bangladesh had raised security concerns about playing its World Cup matches in India amid political tensions between the two countries and sought the relocation of its fixtures to Sri Lanka, a request that was turned down by the ICC. Subsequently, Bangladesh chose to withdraw from the tournament and were replaced by Scotland instead.
Pakistan cited Bangladesh’s removal from the original schedule as unjust when it initially instructed its team not to face India, a move that would have resulted in a forfeiture.
The decision led to a crisis situation since the India-Pakistan match is the biggest and most lucrative clash in the world of cricket, leading to a frantic weekend of negotiations.
The reversal allows Pakistan to proceed with the marquee India match after Bangladesh’s concerns were accommodated by the ICC, Naqvi said.
Pakistan, who edged past the Netherlands in their opening game, face the United States today in Group A, with India set to travel to Colombo for the Feb. 15 clash.
Pakistan and India, bitter political rivals, have not played bilateral cricket for more than a decade and meet only at global tournaments at neutral venues.
