Azmat Khan
THERE has been a lot of talk by the government overtime regarding revolutionizing government organizations through institutional reforms to make them public-friendly and service-oriented. One such government department is Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF), which has been turned into a profit-earning entity from loss-making body. Realizing that economic development and reduction in poverty are two of the foremost challenges faced by the country and both are strongly associated with the size of remittances, PM Imran Khan, right in the early days of his premiership had expressed his government’s desire to take necessary steps to revive confidence among Overseas Pakistanis.
In order to help expats fulfil their dreams of having their own shelter in a safe environment, OPF has effectively finished seven OPF Housing Schemes. Development work at OPF Greens Lahore, Foundation’s latest housing project for Overseas Pakistanis, is in full swing whereas allotment of plots at OPF Town Lahore, a housing project specifically designed for low-paid Overseas Pakistanis, is underway. Besides, another housing project namely OPF Country Homes & Apartments is being launched in Islamabad. The last three projects have been given final shape after PTI’s govt came to power. Under the capable guidance and supervision of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on OP & HRD, Zulfiqar Bukhari. OPF has successfully recovered more than 150 Kanals of state land in Lahore and Islamabad valuing Rs 1.20 Billion.
A one-window machine-readable passport facility has recently been established at OPF Head Office, Islamabad, in addition to the existing OPF-NADRA facilitation center for fast-track provision of passports for Overseas Pakistanis and their family members. Furthermore, a dedicated Overseas Facilitation Desk has been established in the ICT Police Public Facilitation Center in F-6, Islamabad for early resolution of complaints of Overseas Pakistanis and their families.
OPF also provides monetary help to families of those Overseas Pakistanis who accidentally lose their lives in host countries or sustain injuries that render them incapacitated. Dispensing more than Rs. 2.39B, OPF has so far provided financial assistance to the families of 11,864 such Overseas Pakistanis. For speedy transportation of inbound remains of deceased Overseas Pakistanis from airports to their respective hometowns, OPF has signed MoUs with Edhi Foundation and Al-Khidmat Foundation.
8. On the direction of S.Zulfiqar Bukhari, a 24/7 ‘Covid Emergency Cell’ has been established at OPF Head Office to provide immediate assistance to the Overseas Pakistanis stranded abroad due to COVID-19 pandemic. Stepping up to challenges created by the pandemic, an amount of Rs. 20.0M was donated by OPF to the National Disaster Management Authority for provision of food items for Pakistani students stranded in Wuhan, China. On the directives of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on OP &HRD, an additional amount of Rs. 10 Million was also provided to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for subsidizing airfare for the two special flights which repatriated 550 Pakistani students from Wuhan.
In order to facilitate the returning Overseas Pakistanis in terms of skill development for their subsequent re-employment/reintegration in Pakistan’s social and economic fabric for gainful employment, OPF has recently signed an MoU with GIZ, German development agency, which has agreed to provide a grant of 3.13 Million Euro for this purpose. It is also worth mentioning that OPF, in the last two years, has recovered Rs.793.81M from the overseas employers of 605 returned or deceased Overseas Pakistanis which was disbursed amongst their families. Under its Financial Assistance Program, OPF has disbursed an amount of Rs.247.1M amongst 629 destitute families of Overseas Pakistanis.
There is a huge learning gap between children of rural and urban areas due to shortage of highly qualified subject specialist teachers in public sector educational institutions located in far flung areas. In order to address this issue, OPF has implemented its well-thought-out E-learning Program (live online lectures) at its far-located schools. During the tenure of the present government, the program has already been extended to Pakistan International School Riyadh whereas its extension to Pakistani Community School, Abu Dhabi, UAE, will be completed in first week of Sept 2020.
In order to make OPF an organization compliant to international standards of quality management systems, OPF has recently achieved ISO 9001: 2015 certification. This certification will not only ensure transparency and efficiency but will also enhance the trust of our Overseas Pakistanis. In order to educate Overseas Pakistanis about the services being rendered by OPF, an extensive social media campaign (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) highlighting OPF’s services and recent accomplishments is being undertaken which has achieved its objective of educating Overseas Pakistanis and has got a very encouraging response from Overseas Pakistanis. Similarly, a video documentary highlighting OPF’s services is also being displayed for the information of Overseas Pakistanis at all offices of OPF including its airport desks.
Under the capable leadership of Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, OPF has also set up a Reconciliatory Council Project having representation from revenue, police and local judiciary. Over the last two years, the Foundation has taken various new initiatives for facilitation of Overseas Pakistanis such as internship program for the newly graduated children of Overseas Pakistanis, establishment of a dedicated Complaint Management System, revamping of OPF facilitation desks at all international airports in Pakistan, establishment of passport office at OPF Head Office and establishment of dedicated Overseas Facilitation Desk at ICT Police Public Facilitation Centre.
While there are visible signs that the efforts of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s team in revolutionizing public sector institutions are beginning to bear fruit for which they must be applauded, the credit must also go to the management teams of organizations like OPF which are identifying opportunities for improvement and the frontline employees who are rendering services at the extremely crucial execution level.
—The writer is a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad.
