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 detains five men deported from Sharjah for using fake UK visas
- The group was taken into custody at Lahore airport and handed to the Anti-Human Smuggling Circle
- FIA says the five men obtained forged UK visas through agents after traveling to Malaysia this year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities detained five citizens at Lahore airport after they were deported from Sharjah for attempting to travel to the United Kingdom on forged British visas, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Saturday.
The five men had initially traveled from Lahore to Malaysia earlier this year on visit visas, the agency said.
After their stay in Malaysia, it added, they allegedly tried to fly onward to the UK from Sharjah using counterfeit documents obtained through agents.
“Five Pakistani passengers were deported from Sharjah for possessing fake British visas,” the FIA said in its statement. “Upon arrival at Lahore airport, the deported passengers were taken into custody.”
Pakistan has tightened its crackdown on illegal immigration and human smuggling in recent years after a series of deadly boat tragedies involving its citizens attempting to reach Europe.
In July, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was targeting organized criminal networks and urging the public to use safe and legal pathways for overseas employment.
He said the state was expanding job opportunities at home and abroad but warned that irregular migration routes were dangerous and violated national and international law.
The FIA said all five men had been transferred to the Anti-Human Smuggling Circle in Lahore for further investigation.
According to its statement, the forged travel documents were acquired with the assistance of intermediaries, leading authorities in the United Arab Emirates to deny them entry and deport them to Pakistan.
The FIA said the inquiry into the visa fraud and the agents involved was ongoing.
