KARACHI: Pakistan received its highest ever worker remittances of $3.2 billion in the month of May, the Pakistani central bank said on Friday, with Saudi Arabia being the top contributor.
Remittances bring billions of dollars annually from overseas Pakistanis and are vital to Pakistan’s economy. These inflows bolster foreign exchange reserves, stabilize the balance of payments, and support the Pakistani currency.
Pakistani expatriates sent a total of $3.2 billion in May that recorded an increase of 15.3 percent on a month-on-month basis and by 54.2 percent on a year-on-year basis, according to official figures shared by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
“Remittances inflows during May 24 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($819.3 million), United Arab Emirates ($668.5 million), United Kingdom ($473.2 million) and United States of America ($359.5 million),” the SBP said in a statement.
“Cumulatively, with inflow of $ 27.1 billion, workers’ remittances increased by 7.7 percent during the first eleven months of FY24 compared to the same period last year.”
Remittances play a major role in supporting Pakistan’s external account, especially at a time when the country is grappling with an economic crisis that has weakened its currency and caused its foreign exchange reserves to plummet.
Pakistan had set a worker remittance inflow target of $28.5 billion for the current fiscal year ending in July.
“This is higher than our expectations as we projected full year remittances at $28bn, while Pakistan has achieved remittances of $27bn in 11MFY24,” Karachi-based Topline Securities brokerage firm said in its report.
“We believe, with this momentum and growth trajectory, Pakistan can achieve remittances of $29.5-30bn for FY24, up 8-10 percent.”
The higher momentum in remittances was likely to persist due to stability in the Pakistani currency and expectations of a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, it added.
Saudi Arabia remains top contributor as Pakistan remittances hit record $3.2 billion — central bank
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Saudi Arabia remains top contributor as Pakistan remittances hit record $3.2 billion — central bank
- Remittances in May were up by 15.3 percent on a month-on-month basis and 54.2 percent year-on-year
- Saudi Arabia contributed the most to the inflows with $819.3 million, followed by the UAE, UK and US
Tens of thousands flee northwest Pakistan over fears of military operation
- More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled remote Tirah region bordering Afghanistan
- Government says no military operation underway or planned in Tirah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
BARA, Pakistan: More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled a remote region in northwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan over uncertainty of a military operation against the Pakistani Taliban, residents and officials said Tuesday.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has denied the claim by residents and provincial authorities. He said no military operation was underway or planned in Tirah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, he said harsh weather, rather than military action, was driving the migration. His comments came weeks after residents started fleeing Tirah over fears of a possible army operation.
The exodus began a month after mosque loudspeakers urged residents to leave Tirah by Jan. 23 to avoid potential fighting. Last August, Pakistan launched a military operation against Pakistani Taliban in the Bajau r district in the northwest, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
Shafi Jan, a spokesman for the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, posted on X that he held the federal government responsible for the ordeal of the displaced people, saying authorities in Islamabad were retracting their earlier position about the military operation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi, whose party is led by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has criticized the military and said his government will not allow troops to launch a full-scale operation in Tirah.
The military says it will continue intelligence-based operations against Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. Though a separate group, it has been emboldened since the Afghan
Taliban returned to power in 2021. Authorities say many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan and that hundreds of them have crossed into Tirah, often using residents as human shields when militant hideouts are raided.
Caught in the middle are the residents of Tirah, who continued arriving in Bara.
So far, local authorities have registered roughly 10,000 families — about 70,000 people — from Tirah, which has a population of around 150,000, said Talha Rafiq Alam, a local government administrator overseeing the relief effort. He said the registration deadline, originally set for Jan. 23, has been extended to Feb. 5.
He said the displaced would be able to return once the law-and-order situation improves.
Among those arriving in Bara and nearby towns was 35-year-old Zar Badshah, who said he left with his wife and four children after the authorities ordered an evacuation. He said mortar shells had exploded in villages in recent weeks, killing a woman and wounding four children in his village. “Community elders told us to leave. They instructed us to evacuate to safer places,” he said.
At a government school in Bara, hundreds of displaced lined up outside registration centers, waiting to be enrolled to receive government assistance. Many complained the process was slow.
Narendra Singh, 27, said members of the minority Sikh community also fled Tirah after food shortages worsened, exacerbated by heavy snowfall and uncertain security.
“There was a severe shortage of food items in Tirah, and that forced us to leave,” he said.
Tirah gained national attention in September, after an explosion at a compound allegedly used to store bomb-making materials killed at least 24 people. Authorities said most of the dead were militants linked to the TTP, though local leaders disputed that account, saying civilians, including women and children, were among the dead.
