International Day of Family Remittances: Pakistani PM hails expats for record payments this year

A man enters a foreign currency exchange shop in Islamabad on July 11, 2023. (AFP/File)
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Updated 16 June 2025
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International Day of Family Remittances: Pakistani PM hails expats for record payments this year

  • In current fiscal, overseas Pakistanis remitted record $34.9 billion, a 28.8 percent increase over the previous year
  • Pakistan received $3.7 billion in workers’ remittances in May 2025 alone, a strong 13.7 percent year-on-year

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday hailed the record $34.9 billion in remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis this fiscal year, describing it as a sign of their “growing confidence in the government’s economic policies.”

In a statement marking the International Day of Family Remittances, the premier said the 28.8 percent year-on-year rise in remittances had significantly bolstered the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan received $3.7 billion in workers’ remittances in May 2025 alone, a strong 16 percent increase month-on-month and 13.7 percent year-on-year.

“These historic figures are a testament not only to the hard work and loyalty of our diaspora but also to their growing confidence in the government’s economic policies,” Sharif said, calling remittances a “powerful pillar supporting Pakistan’s economic resilience.” 

“This trust reinforces our resolve to redouble efforts for the revival and growth of our economy.”

With over 9 million Pakistanis living abroad, mainly in the Gulf, Europe, and North America, the prime minister praised the expatriate community for their enduring commitment to families back home and their role in sustaining the national economy.

Sharif reiterated the government’s commitment to attracting foreign investment and expanding exports to ensure long-term economic stability, stressing that remittances remained crucial to this goal.

“Let us renew our collective pledge to work hand in hand with our diaspora, development partners, and all stakeholders to overcome our economic challenges and usher in a new era of investment, prosperity, and national progress,” the premier said.


Pakistan joins OIC, Islamic nations to reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

Updated 28 December 2025
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Pakistan joins OIC, Islamic nations to reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

  • Foreign ministers of 21 Islamic nations, OIC issue joint statement to condemn Israel’s move to recognize breakaway African region
  • Joint statement describes Israel’s move as a “grave violation of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter“

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other Arab and Islamic nations in condemning Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, a breakaway African region, calling it a violation of international law and reaffirming its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia. 

Israel this week announced it had recognized Somaliland — a self-declared region that broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not previously been recognized by any United Nations member state — triggering condemnation from Somalia and criticism from regional bodies.

The joint statement shared by Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Sunday was endorsed by the foreign ministers of 20 other Muslim countries including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Qatar, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Türkiye, Yemen and others as well as the OIC. 

“Their unequivocal rejection of Israel’s recognition of the ‘Somaliland’ region of the Federal Republic of Somalia on 26 December 2025, given the serious repercussions of such unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole, which also reflects Israel’s full and blatant disregard to international law,” the joint statement said. 

The statement said Israel’s recognition constitutes a “grave violation of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter,” pointing out that it reflects Tel Aviv’s expansionist agenda.

The Muslim states said they reject any measures that undermine Somalia’s unity, territorial integrity or sovereignty over its entire territory.

“The full rejection of any potential link between such a measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land, which is unequivocally rejected in any form as a matter of principle,” the statement said.

The statement was referencing international media reports earlier this year that said Israel and the US had reached out to East African states, including Somaliland, to take in Palestinians from Gaza.

Pakistan’s foreign office on Saturday issued a separate statement condemning Israel’s recognition of Somaliland. 

“Pakistan strongly condemns any attempts to undermine the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and rejects, in this regard, the announcement made by Israel recognizing the independence of the so-called Somaliland region of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” the foreign office had said. 

Somalia’s government has said Israel’s recognition of Somaliland violates its sovereignty, while the African Union has opposed unilateral recognition of breakaway regions on the continent.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday his country had recognized Somaliland “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” referring to US-brokered deals that helped establish ties between Israel and Arab states.