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
Suicide bomber kills at least five at wedding in northwest Pakistan
- Attack took place in Dera Ismail Khan, targeting the home of a local peace committee member
- Peace committees are community-based groups that report militant activity to security forces
PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber killed at least five people and wounded 10 others after detonating explosives at a wedding ceremony in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, officials said, in an attack that underscored persistent militant violence in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The blast took place at the home of a local peace committee member in Dera Ismail Khan district, where guests had gathered for a wedding, police and emergency officials said.
Peace committees in the region are informal, community-based groups that work with security forces to report militant activity and maintain order, making their members frequent targets of attacks.
“A blast occurred near Qureshi Moor in Dera Ismail Khan. Authorities have recovered five bodies and shifted 10 injured to hospital,” said Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the provincial Rescue 1122 emergency service, adding that the rescue operation was ongoing.
Police said the attacker blew himself up inside the house during the ceremony and that the bomber’s head had been recovered, confirming it was a suicide attack.
Several members of the local peace committee were present at the time, raising fears the toll could rise.
District Police Officer Sajjad Ahmed Sahibzada said authorities had launched an investigation into the incident, while security forces sealed off the area.
Militant attacks have surged in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the Taliban returned to power in neighboring
Afghanistan in 2021, with the administration in Islamabad blaming the Afghan government for “facilitating” cross-border attacks targeting Pakistani civilians and security forces. However, Kabul has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also seen frequent intelligence-based operations by security forces targeting suspected militants.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.
