Staff Reporter Rawalpindi
Prolong ban on entry of Pakistani work force into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is damaging the incumbent government’s efforts of poverty alleviation and a number of skilled and unskilled workers have lost their savings while waiting for lifting ban.
This was stated by Khalid Nawaz, Chief Executive Officer of Knight Human Management (KHM) SHALAAN Pakistan, an agency working to protect rights and jobs of overseas Pakistanis while addressing a youth assembly who sought career counseling in KHM School of Arts and Design.
He said, “Ready to left for UAE, Pakistani workforce across the country, making a huge number in thousands, has consumed left over savings now and their families are facing very difficult situation and are moving towards starvation.”
Khalid Nawaz said that the overseas jobs were very important in government efforts to reduce poverty but the UAE’s ban on Pakistani manpower exports is undermining the government’s efforts. “Our government should negotiate with the UAE authorities to lift the ban.
He mentioned that as a result of the incumbent government’s efforts, about 7.0 million Pakistani workers were sent abroad in 2019 for jobs. “Among these, 96% workers were landed in Gulf Counties and majority of them found employment in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates”, he said adding that due to recent ban on receiving of Pakistani manpower by UAE, we are facing decline in overseas job opportunities coupled with its related problems.
The CEO KHM SHAALAN Pakistan said if the UAE government does not lift the ban on import of Pakistani workers soon, it would swell the un-employment and poverty in addition to harming our economy. He appealed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan to immediately hold fruitful talks with UAE to resolve this problem at an earliest to avoid these problems.