ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, Jawad Sohrab Malik, on Wednesday signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the Saudi-based global conglomerate, Al Bawani Holdings, to unlock jobs for Pakistani expats.
Malik is on a visit to Saudi Arabia to enhance cooperation on jobs and human resources. On Wednesday, the SAPM visited the headquarters of Al Bawani holdings in Riyadh where he met the company’s CEO and chairman, Engr. Fakher Al-Shawaf.
Al Bawani Holdings, a diversified Saudi conglomerate, is among the top five general contracting entities in the Saudi construction sector.
The Kingdom is home to the largest number of Pakistani expats, over two million, and is the biggest contributor to remittance inflows to the South Asian nation.
“Expressing confidence in the capabilities of Pakistani workers, Malik conveyed to the company Chairman that Pakistani workforce is well-trained and possess the necessary skills and knowledge, making them exceptionally suitable for construction work in KSA,” the Ministry for Overseas Pakistanis said in a statement after the meeting.
“This acknowledgment of Pakistani workforce competence led to a significant development — the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) between the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) and Al Bawani.”
This LOI establishes a legal framework to “foster cooperation and coordination for mutual benefits, promising to unlock numerous job opportunities for Pakistani professionals and workers in the near future,” the ministry added.
Al Bawani Holdings also said it would establish a state of the art human resource training center in Pakistan, “to further train and equip Pakistani workforce with skills required as per international standards.”
On Tuesday, Malik met with the Saudi Minister for Human Resources and Social Development, Dr. Abdullah Nasser Abu Thnain, and Deputy Minister for Human Resources and Social Development, HE Adnan Abdullah Al-Nuaim, in Riyadh. During the meeting he invited Takamol, a Saudi initiative to develop human capital, to open more testing and training centers in Pakistan, and offered full cooperation to Takamol to work as an independent training and certification company in Pakistan.
“Further, [Saudi] TVTC (Technical and Vocational Training Corporation) can also collaborate for training initiatives in Pakistan,” the SAPM was quoted as saying in a statement on Tuesday.
“[Pakistan’s] NAVTEC (National Vocational and Technical Training Commission) and TVTC shall sign MOU very soon.”
The meeting came days after the Pakistan Overseas Employment Corporation (POEC) and NESMA & Partners, a leading contracting company in Saudi Arabia, signed an agreement to export manpower to the Kingdom.
The “landmark” agreement between the POEC and NESMA & Partners will allow the export of skilled Pakistani labor to Saudi Arabia, specifically for ongoing and upcoming projects of NESMA, which specializes in construction.
Pakistan signs letter of intent with Saudi Arabia’s Al Bawani to unlock jobs for its nationals
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Pakistan signs letter of intent with Saudi Arabia’s Al Bawani to unlock jobs for its nationals
- Al Bawani Holdings, a diversified Saudi conglomerate, is among top five general contracting entities in Saudi construction sector
- Al Bawani Holdings chairman says company will establish a state of the art human resource training center in Pakistan
Pakistan denies reports army ordered ‘depopulation’ in Tirah Valley ahead of anti-militant operation
Pakistan denies reports army ordered ‘depopulation’ in Tirah Valley ahead of anti-militant operation
- Tirah Valley residents started fleeing homes this month ahead of a planned military operation against militants
- Reports aimed at creating alarm among public, disinformation against security institutions, says information ministry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information ministry on Sunday denied reports the army has ordered depopulation in the northwestern Tirah Valley ahead of a planned anti-militant offensive, stating that any movement of residents from the area is voluntary.
The denial from the government comes as residents of Tirah Valley in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan flee their homes ahead of a planned military operation by the army against militants, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.
Despite major military operations in the mid-2010s, Tirah Valley has remained a stronghold for insurgents, prompting authorities to plan what they describe as a targeted clearance.
“The government has taken notice of misleading claims in circulation regarding alleged ‘depopulation’ from Tirah Valley on the orders of the Army,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) said in a statement on Sunday.
“These assertions are baseless, malicious, and driven by ulterior motives aimed at creating alarm among the public, disinformation against security institutions and furthering vested political interest.”
The ministry said Pakistan’s federal government and the armed forces had not issued directives for any such depopulation of the territory. It clarified that law enforcement agencies are “routinely conducting targeted, intelligence-based operations strictly against terrorist elements” with care to avoid disruption to peaceful civilian life.
It said locals are increasingly concerned over presence of the “khawarij,” a term the military and government frequently use for the TTP, in Tirah Valley and desire peace and stability in the area.
The information ministry mentioned that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Relief, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Department issued a notification on Dec. 26 last year for the release of funds, reportedly Rs4 billion [$14.24 million], for the “anticipated temporary and voluntary movement of population from certain localities of Tirah.”
It also said that the notification mentioned that the deputy commissioner of Khyber District, where Tirah Valley is located, said the voluntary movement of people reflects the views of the local population articulated through a jirga at the district level.
“Hence any stated position of the Provincial Government or their officials being conveyed to media that the said migration has anything to do with the Armed Forces is false and fabricated,” the information ministry said.
“Given with malafide intent to gain political capital and unfortunately malign security institutions and therefore highly regrettable.”
The evacuation has exposed tensions between the provincial government, run by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, and the military establishment over the use of force in the region.
“We have neither allowed the operation nor will we ever allow the operation,” KP Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said earlier this month, arguing that past military campaigns had failed to deliver lasting stability.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shareef Chaudhry has previously defended security operations as necessary as militant attacks surge in the country.
In a recent briefing, Chaudhry said security forces carried out 75,175 intelligence-based operations nationwide last year, including more than 14,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, attributing the surge in violence to what he described as a “politically conducive environment” for militants.
