Overseas Pakistanis may suffer
Wednesday, July 11, 2012 - ACCORDING to reports emanating from London, new immigration rules affecting marriage from overseas that came into effect on Monday would hit Pakistani community hard. Pakistani communities reportedly live in the most deprived areas, have the highest number of unemployment and many of them work in sectors where salaries are so low that they will not be able to meet the new but stricter Home Office requirements.
No doubt, the immigration rules are not Pakistan-specific but these would adversely affect Pakistani communities and those seeking student visas because of peculiar circumstances. In our view, overseas Pakistanis are not experiencing difficulties just in Britain as in many other countries they are in a disadvantageous position because of inhospitable environment. Apart from the discrimination that Pakistanis face due to terrorism-related issues, they are also confronting many other challenges that are compounding with the passage of time due to inactive attitude of Pakistani missions abroad. It seems that the objective is to weaken Pakistan economically as overseas Pakistanis are a precious source of remittances for the country. Apart from discriminatory treatment of Pakistanis, we have to blame ourselves for this sorry state of affairs as no worthwhile attempts have been made to address the challenge. The overseas job markets are becoming highly competitive and we find ourselves unable to compete in the face of growing competition from countries like India, Bangladesh and Thailand. Despite repeated announcements by successive Governments, we have not been able to prepare our work force as per market requirements. Unskilled labour force is being replaced by skilled manpower and there is dire need to launch aggressive programmes to impart skills and training to Pakistanis that are in demand in overseas markets. It is job of the Pakistani missions abroad to work for resolution of the problems being faced by our work force in the host countries and this requires constant accountability by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
No doubt, the immigration rules are not Pakistan-specific but these would adversely affect Pakistani communities and those seeking student visas because of peculiar circumstances. In our view, overseas Pakistanis are not experiencing difficulties just in Britain as in many other countries they are in a disadvantageous position because of inhospitable environment. Apart from the discrimination that Pakistanis face due to terrorism-related issues, they are also confronting many other challenges that are compounding with the passage of time due to inactive attitude of Pakistani missions abroad. It seems that the objective is to weaken Pakistan economically as overseas Pakistanis are a precious source of remittances for the country. Apart from discriminatory treatment of Pakistanis, we have to blame ourselves for this sorry state of affairs as no worthwhile attempts have been made to address the challenge. The overseas job markets are becoming highly competitive and we find ourselves unable to compete in the face of growing competition from countries like India, Bangladesh and Thailand. Despite repeated announcements by successive Governments, we have not been able to prepare our work force as per market requirements. Unskilled labour force is being replaced by skilled manpower and there is dire need to launch aggressive programmes to impart skills and training to Pakistanis that are in demand in overseas markets. It is job of the Pakistani missions abroad to work for resolution of the problems being faced by our work force in the host countries and this requires constant accountability by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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