KARACHI: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remained top contributors to Pakistan’s highest ever remittance inflow in April, according to the country’s central bank that released the latest data on Tuesday.
“Workers’ remittances rose to an all-time monthly high of $2.8 billion in April 2021, which is 56 percent higher than the same month during the last year,” the State Bank of Pakistan said.
On a cumulative basis, remittances also surpassed previous records during the ten months of the current fiscal year (10MFY21).
The $24.2 billion the country received in July-April FY21, is 29 percent greater than the inflows in the corresponding period last year and the amount has already exceeded the full FY20 level by more than $1 billion.
The central bank took the credit for the highest remittance inflow, saying its proactive policy measures encouraged more remittances through formal channels.
Other contributing factors accounting for the record remittance levels this year include reduced cross-border travel due to COVID-19, orderly foreign exchange market conditions and, more recently, Eid-related money transfers by overseas Pakistanis to their homeland.
Pakistan received $6.4 billion from Saudi Arabia followed by $5.1 billion from the UAE and $2.77 billion from other gulf countries during July-April FY21, taking the overall contribution of the gulf states to 58 percent of the total inflow of $24.2 billion this year.
The United Kingdom and United States were other major contributors with $3.3 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively.
During the month of April, Pakistani workers remitted $664.5 million from Saudi Arabia while those in the UAE dispatched $549.3 million. The trend shows that inflows from the two countries will surpass previous records by the end of the current fiscal year.
During the last fiscal year (FY20), Pakistani workers in Saudi Arabia contributed $6.61 billion while inflows from UAE stood at $5.61 billion.
“Due to travel restriction, people are now transferring more money through digital means,” Samiullah Tariq, head of research at the Pakistan Kuwait Investment, told Arab News on Tuesday. “Previously, they physically carried cash while traveling to the country.”
“Cumulative inflows during the full fiscal year are expected to remain in the range of $28 billion to $29 billion,” he continued, adding: “The inflows in the coming months are expected to tone down.”
Analysts say major inflows from the gulf countries are supporting Pakistan’s balance of payment situation and strengthening the country’s national currency which closed at Rs152.60 against the US dollar in the interbank market on Monday.
Saudi Arabia, UAE remain top contributors to Pakistan remittance inflows
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Saudi Arabia, UAE remain top contributors to Pakistan remittance inflows
- Official statistics compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan point to an all-time monthly high of $2.8 billion last month
- Pakistan’s overall remittance inflow increased by 29 percent to $24.2 billion during the first ten months of the current fiscal year
Pakistan vaccinates over 13.6 million children on first day of nationwide anti-polio campaign
- Pakistan launched week-long nationwide campaign to vaccinate over 45 million children on Monday
- Health workers vaccinate over 7 million children in Punjab, three million in Sindh and 2.2 million in KP provinces
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani health workers vaccinated over13.6 million children on the first day of the nationwide anti-polio campaign, the National Emergency Operations (NEOC) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Pakistan launched the Feb. 2-8 campaign, the first of this year, in the country’s Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (KP) areas on Monday. The campaign will target over 45 million children in the territories.
“Over 13.6 million children vaccinated nationwide on the first day of the campaign,” the NEOC said in a statement, adding that over 7.3 million children were vaccinated in the eastern Punjab province.
Over 3 million children were vaccinated in Sindh, 2.275 million in KP, 559,000 in the southwestern Balochistan province, 82,000 in GB and 233,000 in Azad Kashmir.
“Polio is an incurable disease that can cause lifelong disability in children,” the NEOC said. “Parents urged to open their doors to polio workers and ensure their children receive polio drops.”
Eliminating poliovirus remains a critical health initiative of Pakistan, which along with Afghanistan, is one of only two countries worldwide where the virus is endemic. Pakistan reported 31 cases of polio in 2025, which authorities say is a significant decline from the alarming 74 cases of the disease it reported in 2024.
Polio workers and their security escorts have repeatedly been targeted in militant attacks, particularly in parts of Pakistan’s KP and Balochistan provinces, complicating efforts to vaccinate children in remote areas.
A gun attack targeting a polio vaccination team in the northwestern Bajaur district in December 2025 left one police constable and a civilian dead.
Natural disasters, such as floods, have also disrupted vaccination campaigns in recent years.
