KARACHI: Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), contributed over 54 percent to Pakistan’s remittances during the last fiscal year, data compiled by the central bank showed on Monday, providing a much-needed relief to the cash strapped economy of the South Asian nation.
Pakistan received $31.2 billion from overseas workers in FY22, indicating an annual increase of 6.1 percent in remittances. The inflows from the gulf countries stood at 54.1 percent — or $16.95 billion — of the total remittances received by the country.
Pakistani workers living in Saudi Arabia remitted $7.74 billion during the last fiscal year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The UAE remained the second largest contributor with $5.88 billion inflows during FY22. The remittances received from other gulf countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, collectively stood at $3.62 billion as compared to $3.33 billion which the country received in FY21.
Pakistani analysts say the gulf region plays a major role in supporting Pakistan’s economy, not only through remittances also by providing energy security.
“The inflows from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries play a significant role in supporting Pakistan’s balance of payment situation,” Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, told Arab News.
“Pakistan not only receives major remittance inflow from gulf nations but its energy security is also dependent on the region, particularly Saudi Arabia,” he added.
The gulf region offers huge employment opportunities to a large number of Pakistani nationals. According to Pakistan’s Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment, more than 2.33 million Pakistanis were employed by the region between 2017 and June 2022. Among them, 1.19 million people were accommodated by Saudi Arabia alone.
“Saudi Arabia and the UAE have played a major role in strengthening Pakistan’s economy by providing employment opportunities to a major chunk of its overseas labor force,” Samiullah Tariq, director research at the Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company, told Arab News.
“The remittances play a great role in supporting the country’s balance of payment as the inflows enable Pakistan to finance its imports,” he continued. “The remittances also support the Pakistani rupee which, in the current situation, is under pressure. It also eases off pressure on interest rate.”
Despite record remittance inflows, the Pakistani rupee on Monday hit record low against United States dollar and traded at around Rs216.01 in the open market.
However, analysts said the recent decline of rupee had taken place due to the landslide victory of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in recent by-elections in Punjab province.
“The ongoing political uncertainty may also have its implications for the IMF loan program,” Khurram Schehzad, CEO of Alpha Beta Core, a financial advisory firm, told Arab News. “The stock market is also down more than 700 points.”
Gulf nations contributed 54 percent to Pakistan's remittance inflows during last fiscal year - SBP
https://arab.news/cbh2a
Gulf nations contributed 54 percent to Pakistan's remittance inflows during last fiscal year - SBP
- The central bank says Pakistan received highest ever remittances of $31.2 billion in FY22
- The Pakistani rupee hit another record low of Rs216.01 against the US dollar on Monday
Pakistan reaffirms stance against forging diplomatic ties with Israel, cites Palestinian well-being
- The country’s interim information minister calls it the discretion of other Muslim states how they view relations with Israel
- Murtaza Solangi says Pakistan respects all countries and their policies but can’t be forced by them to change its position
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi on Sunday reaffirmed Pakistan’s unchanged stance of not establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, citing the well-being of the Palestinian people as the primary reason in an interview.
Solangi’s comments came hours after Geo News reported that Pakistan’s interim foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani had said any decision to establish bilateral relations with Israel would hinge on the nation’s own interests and the well-being of the Palestinian people.
Jilani’s remarks were said to be in response to claims by his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, who indicated he had met with leaders of several Islamic nations in recent days who were likely to forge diplomatic ties with Israel soon.
However, the Pakistani foreign minister clarified there had been no recent meetings between his country’s officials with Israeli authorities.
“Some Muslim countries in the world have long maintained diplomatic relations with Israel,” Solangi told GTV News. “But we don’t have such ties for the last 75 or 76 years. Pakistan has taken a traditional and principled stand [over the issue], and the state and its institutions stand by it.”
“Pakistan’s position on Israel is related to the future of the people of Palestine,” he continued. “As long as Palestinians do not get their free country and their right to self-determination, which is recognized in the United Nations resolutions, Pakistan will not abandon its Palestinian brothers.”
The information minister said how other Muslim countries viewed their relations with Israel was their discretion.
“We respect all countries and their policies,” he said. “But we cannot be forced by any country to alter our position as well.”
Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar also advocated for a two-state solution as a path to enduring peace in Palestine during his United Nations General Assembly speech on Friday.
He reiterated Pakistan’s position on the matter, calling for the “establishment of a viable and contiguous Palestinian state within the pre-June 1967 borders with Al-Quds as its capital.”
Kakar also criticized Israeli military raids against Palestinians and its expansion of settlements in the Occupied Territories.
However, Geo News quoted an unnamed Pakistani diplomat in its report as saying he hoped that his country “would not have to make a decision on this matter [of normalizing relations with Israel] in the near future.”
Pakistan’s interim government advocates inclusive elections, calls for impartial state media coverage
- Murtaza Solangi says it is the responsibility of the caretaker government to create the right environment for transparent polls
- PM Kakar told international media on Friday it was possible to hold fair elections without ex-PM Khan who was facing legal action
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interim information minister Murtaza Solangi stressed the importance of unfettered political participation in the upcoming national elections on Sunday, saying the state media must remain impartial during the political contest.
Solangi’s issued the statement at a time when supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have tried to highlight attempts to eliminate their top leader from the political landscape of the country.
Khan has been facing a number of cases since his ouster from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April of last year and remains incarcerated in a high-security prison on charges of corruption and violating the Official Secrets Act.
Addressing a ceremony at Radio Pakistan Karachi, Solangi said it was clearly written in the constitution that the country would be run by democratically elected leaders.
“The state media should not support or oppose any political party,” he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan news agency.
He said it was the responsibility of the caretaker government to provide the right environment for transparent polls. He instructed the country’s official media to provide fair coverage to all registered political parties in the country.
It may be recalled that Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday it was “absolutely absurd” to say Pakistan’s powerful military would want to manipulate the election results keep ex-PM Khan from winning.
However, he also maintained in the same conversation it was possible to hold fair elections without the former premier and his jailed party leaders since they were involved in violent protests on May 9 and were facing legal action as a consequence.
Fathers of Noor Mukadam, Sara Inam call for expedited justice in daughters’ murder cases
- The demand for quicker trials by fathers of the two high-profile murder victims highlights a stagnant justice system
- The murders of Mukadam and Inam led to public outrage, calling into question the safety and rights of women in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The fathers of Noor Mukadam and Sara Inam, victims of two high-profile murders in Pakistan, held a news conference in the federal capital on Sunday, calling for expedited legal proceedings speedy justice in their daughters’ cases.
The media interaction was arranged exactly a year after Inam, a 37-year-old economist, was killed by her husband, Shahnawaz Amir, in suburban Islamabad.
The fathers of the two women not only pressed the judiciary for timely justice but also reignited the focus on the safety and rights of women in Pakistan which came under question after the two murders.
“It has been a year,” lamented Engineer Inam Rahim, Sara's father. “We were hoping this would take about six months since these were open-and-shut cases.”
He also asked the media not to forget about the murders and discuss them in newspapers and on television channels.
“We request you to continue to highlight these cases since that will raise our hopes of getting justice,” he continued, adding that his daughter was trapped by a husband whose main goal was her wealth and who eventually subjected her to brutal murder.
Shaukat Ali Mukadam, the father of Noor Mukadam who was murdered in July 2021, also called for a speedy trial.
“The courts will lose their credibility if such cases continue to remain pending in them,” he said.
His statement came as Zahir Jaffer, who was sentenced to death in his daughter’s murder case, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Pakistan in April 2023. The case has remained pending since then.
Pakistan recalls injectable medicine amid eye infection reports, initiates probe
- The interim health minister assures the public of transparent inquiry, vows to prosecute those responsible
- The government had received complaints related to loss of sight among diabetic patients using Avastin in Punjab
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interim health minister Nadeem Jan said on Sunday the government had recalled an injectable medicine from the market after receiving reports it had caused eye infections and loss of sight among patients in the Kasur, Multan, Lahore, and Sadiqabad districts located in the eastern Punjab province.
According to media reports, the caretaker administration in Punjab formed a five-member committee to investigate the issue, following complaints related to a locally manufactured injection called Avastin which was used by diabetic patients in the province.
The federal health minister invited his provincial counterpart to Islamabad to discuss the issue in the wake of this development. He said authorities had launched an investigation and would soon assign responsibility for the matter.
“Investigations are ongoing,” Jan said in a televised statement. “A committee has been formed, comprising five of our most senior experts, who will analyze the issue from all angles and provide us with a comprehensive report within the next three days.”
“As of now, the batch of medicine in question has been recalled,” he continued. “It is now in our possession, and its sales are prohibited.”
The minister explained the investigation team was tasked with determining whether the problem was caused by the medicine itself, issues in its supply chain, the skill level of the administering doctors, or the sterilization process.
He added the government had filed a police report against two individuals representing the supply company and had initiated legal action against them.
Jan assured the public of a transparent inquiry, adding the authorities would share their findings and prosecute those responsible for causing harm to patients.
Asian Games: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to set up India cricket final
- Pakistan manage below-par 75-9 in 20 overs against Sri Lanka
- Pakistan and Bangladesh will face off for bronze on Monday
HANGZHOU, China: In-form Sri Lanka, fresh from a stunning Twenty20 series victory in England, beat Pakistan by six wickets on Sunday to reach the women’s cricket final at the Asian Games and set up a clash with India.
Pakistan never got going on a difficult batting surface affected by days of rain at the Zhejiang University of Technology ground in Hangzhou, and could only muster a below-par 75-9 in their 20 overs.
Left-arm medium pace bowler Udeshika Prabodhani led the Sri Lankan attack with three wickets and Kavisha Dilhari took two with her offspin.
Sri Lanka sauntered to their target with 21 balls to spare to spark wild celebrations as their players ran on to the field to high-five and hug each other.
Earlier, the Indians routed Bangladesh for 51 on the same ground with all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar, only drafted into the squad as a last-minute replacement, taking four wickets.
They wasted no time in racing to an eight-wicket victory with more than 11 overs remaining as Jemimah Rodrigues top-scored with an unbeaten 20.
Rodrigues is yet to be dismissed in the Asian Games, scoring 47 not out in the quarter-final against Malaysia, which was later abandoned because of rain.
It was the second time in just over a week that Sri Lankan cricketers had proven party-poopers by preventing a Pakistan-India major cricket final.
The country’s men’s team beat Pakistan in the semifinal of the 50-over Asia Cup in Colombo to prevent a final showdown against their fierce rivals India.
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s women secured a historic first-ever white-ball series triumph over England, winning 2-1.
Pakistan and Bangladesh will face off for bronze on Monday before India take on Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match.
