ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates once again emerged as top contributors to Pakistani workers’ remittances that soared to a historic annual high of $29.4 billion in the last fiscal year, the State Bank of Pakistan announced in an official statement on Tuesday.
“Remittance inflows during FY21 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($7.7 billion), the United Arab Emirates ($6.1 billion), the United Kingdom ($4.1 billion) and the United States ($2.7 billion),” the central bank said.
Last month alone, the country recorded a remittance inflow of about $2.7 billion, making June 2021 the thirteenth consecutive month that witnessed an influx of over $2 billion.
According to the central bank, the rise in remittances has “helped improve the country’s external sector position despite the challenging global economic conditions in the past year.”
“Remittances registered a substantial 27 percent growth in FY21 over last year, and the fastest rate of expansion since FY03,” it added.
The government has already maintained the growth in remittances has been fueled by its “proactive policy measures” since it “incentivized the use of formal [banking] channels.”
Other factors helping the process include “curtailed cross-border travel in the face of COVID-19 infections, altruistic transfers to Pakistan amid the pandemic, and orderly foreign exchange market conditions,” the statement noted.
Saudi Arabia, UAE biggest contributors as Pakistan receives over $29 billion in remittances
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Saudi Arabia, UAE biggest contributors as Pakistan receives over $29 billion in remittances
- The rise in remittance inflow has been attributed to the government’s ‘proactive policies’ and ‘curtailed cross-border travel’ due to COVID-19
- Pakistan’s central bank says the growth in remittance inflows has improved the country’s ‘external sector position’ despite the global pandemic
Pakistan rejects Amnesty claims of Israeli spyware use, calls reports ‘disinformation’
- FO denies any link with Israel, says Pakistan has “absolutely no cooperation” on surveillance tools
- Islamabad accuses India of delaying clearance for relief aircraft bound for flood-hit Sri Lanka
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday rejected an Amnesty International report alleging the use of Israeli-made invasive spyware in the country, calling the findings speculative and misleading.
Amnesty’s investigation, published Thursday under the title Intellexa Leaks, cited the case of a Pakistan-based human rights lawyer who reported receiving a suspicious WhatsApp link in 2025. According to Amnesty International’s Security Lab, the link bore signatures consistent with Predator, a spyware product developed by Israeli manufacturer c
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi dismissed the suggestion that Islamabad had deployed the tool or maintained any technological cooperation with Israel.
“These are all media speculations. These are all rumor-mongering and disinformation. There is absolutely no cooperation between Pakistan and Israel on anything, let alone a spyware or these kinds of tools. So, I would reject it quite emphatically,” he said at a weekly briefing.
Andrabi also accused India of obstructing humanitarian operations, saying New Delhi delayed flight clearance for a Pakistani relief aircraft carrying aid to flood-affected Sri Lanka.
“The special aircraft carrying Pakistan’s relief goods had to wait for 48 hours, in fact more than 48 hours, around 60 hours, while the flight clearance from India was delayed,” he said.
He added that the eventual conditional flight window was too narrow to be workable.
“The partial flight clearance which eventually was given after 48 hours was operationally impractical, time-bound just for a few hours and hence not operable, severely hindering the urgent need for the relief mission for the brotherly people of Sri Lanka,” Andrabi stated.
“Humanitarian assistance is like justice, if it is delayed, it is denied.”
Responding to India’s claim that clearance was granted within four hours, he said Pakistan has documentary proof contradicting New Delhi’s version.
On a separate question about reported delays in the arrival of a Turkish delegation aimed at mediating between Islamabad and Kabul, Andrabi said Pakistan welcomed Ankara’s initiative but was unaware of the cause of postponement.
“We stand ready to receive the Turkish delegation. That delegation has not arrived as yet. And I’m not aware of any schedule. Pakistan is ready to hold negotiations, discussions,” he said, adding that the delay may be linked to coordination with the Afghan side.
