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Pakistan plans to double manpower exports to Saudi Arabia after landmark defense deal

A picture taken on October 18, 2018 shows a general view of foreign labourers working in the construction site of Riyadh's metro. (AFP/ file)
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Updated 06 October 2025
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Pakistan plans to double manpower exports to Saudi Arabia after landmark defense deal

  • Pakistan sent 1.88 million workers to Saudi Arabia between 2020 and 2024, up 21 percent from 1.56 million from 2015 till 2019
  • Remittances from Kingdom rose from $7.39 billion in 2020 to $8.59 billion in 2024, reflecting steady demand for Pakistani labor
Updated 06 October 2025
Waseem Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is planning to double its manpower exports to Saudi Arabia after the signing of a landmark defense deal between the two countries last month, officials told Arab News on Monday.

The country’s human resource exports to Saudi Arabia have already witnessed a steady rise over the past five years, according to the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BEOE). Pakistan sent 1.88 million workers to Saudi Arabia between 2020 and 2024, up 21 percent from 1.56 million in 2015–2019.

Remittances from the Kingdom rose from $7.39 billion in 2020 to $8.59 billion in 2024, reflecting steady demand for Pakistani labor. In contrast, inflows from the United Arab Emirates fluctuated between $5.8 billion and $6.8 billion during the same period, while those from Qatar remained below $1 billion annually, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

In Sept., both countries signed a landmark defense pact that is meant to enhance joint deterrence and deepen decades of military and security cooperation. Top Pakistani government officials, including National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer, have said Islamabad and Riyadh will sign a wide-ranging economic pact in the follow up of the defense deal.

“The Saudi-Pakistan defense pact will have a great impact on manpower export. Current average export is around half a million workers per year, and from next year, we hope to double it to one million,” said Gul Akbar, a senior director at the BEOE.

The BEOE is working with officials of Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a civil-military body formed to boost investment, particularly from the Middle East, to make it possible through a number of steps, according to the official. The draft will be shared with Saudi officials by their Pakistani counterparts in upcoming meetings.

The Pakistan government on Sunday constituted a high-level committee comprising ministers and officials to oversee bilateral economic engagements and negotiations with Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Akbar said Pakistan has proposed setting up technical training institutes in both countries to improve skill certification and employability of local workforce.

“We are also proposing an e-visa system for Pakistani workers,” he added.

The Kingdom remains the largest destination for Pakistani workers and the biggest source of remittances that amounted to $736.7 million in Aug. out of a total inflow of $3.1 billion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Experts link the rise in number of Pakistani workers traveling to Saudi Arabia to ongoing development projects in the Kingdom under its Vision 2030, which they say have created strong demand for skilled and semi-skilled foreign labor.

Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the 2034 FIFA World Cup is further fueling demand for foreign labor, amid construction of large stadiums, transport networks and hospitality infrastructure in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s human resource exports to the UAE declined sharply by 65 percent from 1.32 million to 463,000 from 2020 till 2024, while Qatar more than doubled its intake from 74,000 to 170,000 Pakistani workers, reflecting shifting labor dynamics across the Gulf region.

To meet Saudi Arabia’s labor needs, Pakistan has partnered with Takamol, a Pakistani skill verification program, and its National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) is certifying workers in 62 skilled categories, ranging from construction to technical services.

Speaking to Arab News, Masood Ahmad, CEO of M.Pak Makkah Manpower Services, said his firm alone dispatched 2,000 workers to Saudi Arabia this year.

“The defense pact has boosted Saudi employers’ confidence in Pakistani workers as both countries deepen cooperation,” he said, highlighting a growing demand for health care professionals and delivery drivers.

Akbar dismissed concerns about “brain drain” and called overseas employment a “national achievement.” Pakistan’s surplus labor should be seen as an economic resource that brings home remittances, knowledge and technical skills, he added.

Remittances remain a cornerstone of Pakistan’s external finances, providing hard currency that supports household consumption, narrows the current-account deficit, and strengthens foreign exchange reserves.

In the last fiscal year, Pakistan recorded $38.3 billion workers’ remittances — an $8 billion increase from the previous year, surpassing the country’s $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Arabia ties

Pakistan accuses India of manipulating Indus waters, warns of risks to regional peace

Updated 58 min 57 sec ago
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Pakistan accuses India of manipulating Indus waters, warns of risks to regional peace

  • India announced in April it was putting the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance over a gun attack in disputed Kashmir it blamed on Pakistan
  • Islamabad says it has witnessed ‘unusual, abrupt variations’ in the flow of Chenab river, accusing New Delhi of ‘material breaches’ of treaty
Updated 58 min 57 sec ago
Usama Iqbal Khawaja

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday accused India of manipulating flows of Indus waters in violation of a 1960 water-sharing treaty, warning that unilateral actions over the transboundary waters could heighten tensions and pose risks to regional peace.

The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), mediated by the World Bank, divides control of the Indus basin rivers between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. India said in April it was holding the treaty “in abeyance” after a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed more than 26 tourists. New Delhi blamed the assault on Pakistan, Islamabad denied it.

The treaty grants Pakistan rights to the Indus basin’s western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — for irrigation, drinking, and non-consumptive uses like hydropower, while India controls the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — for unrestricted use but must not significantly alter their flow. India can use the western rivers for limited purposes such as power generation and irrigation, without storing or diverting large volumes, according to the agreement.

Speaking to foreign envoys in Islamabad, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar accused New Delhi of “material breaches” of the IWT that may have consequences for regional stability, citing “unusual, abrupt variations” in the flow of Chenab river from April 30 to May 21 and from Dec. 7 to Dec. 15.

“These variations in water flows are of extreme concern for Pakistan as they point to unilateral release of water by India into River Chenab. India has released this water without any prior notification or any data- or information-sharing with Pakistan as required under the treaty,” he said.

“India’s most recent action clearly exemplifies the weaponization of water to which Pakistan has been consistently drawing attention of the international community.”

There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.

Dar said this water “manipulation” occurs at a critical time in Pakistan’s agricultural cycle and directly threatens the lives and livelihoods as well as food and economic security of its citizens.

He shared that Indian actions prompted Indus Water Commissioner Mehar Ali Shah to write a letter to his Indian counterpart, seeking clarification on the matter as provided under the Indus Waters Treaty.

“We expect India to respond to the queries raised by Pakistan’s Indus water commissioner, refrain from any unilateral manipulation of river flows, and fulfill all its obligations in letter and spirit under the Indus Waters Treaty provisions,” the Pakistani deputy premier said.

Dar also accused India of consistently trying to undermine the IWT by building various dams, including Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects, which he said sets “a very dangerous precedent.”

“Alarmingly, India is now subverting the treaty’s own dispute resolution mechanism by refusing to participate in the Court of Arbitration and neutral expert proceedings. India is pursuing a deliberate strategy to sabotage the well-established arbitration process under the treaty provisions,” he said.

The South Asian neighbors have been arguing over hydroelectric projects on the shared Indus river system for decades, with Pakistan complaining that India’s planned hydropower dams will cut its flows.

In August, the International Court of Arbitration rendered an award on issues of general interpretation of the IWT, explaining the designed criteria for the new run-of-river hydropower projects to be constructed by India on the western rivers of Chenab, Jhelum and Indus, which Islamabad said vindicated its stance.

In its findings, the Court of Arbitration declared that India shall “let flow” the waters of the western rivers for Pakistan’s unrestricted use. In that connection, the specified exceptions for generation of hydro-electric plants must conform strictly to the requirements laid down in the Treaty, rather than to what India might consider an “ideal” or “best practices approach,” according to the Pakistani foreign office.

“Pakistan would like to reiterate that Indus Waters Treaty is a binding legal instrument that has made an invaluable contribution to peace and stability of South Asia,” Dar said.

“Its violation, on the one hand, threatens the inviolability of international treaties and on the other, it poses serious risks to regional peace and security, principles of good neighborhood, and norms that govern inter-state relations.”

Topics: Indus Water Treaty Pakistan India Conflict

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