Instead of highlighting their positive role and defending their rights, the report by the secretary of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development reinforces the bigoted negative stereotypes of overseas Pakistanis– Photo Pro-Pakistan
Growing Demand for Pakistani Workers in Gulf Arab Kingdoms
By Riaz Haq
CA
Millions of Pakistani workers have been participating in the development of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf nations over many decades. They have been rendering their services despite an almost complete absence of basic human rights and harsh working conditions .
A recent Pakistani government report appears to negate their enormous contribution to the Arab Gulf region. Instead of highlighting their positive role and defending their rights, the report by the secretary of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development reinforces the bigoted negative stereotypes of overseas Pakistanis.
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Emigration of Pakistani Workers - Source: Pakistan Bureau of Emigration |
This report and unfounded negative statements in the past seem to indicate that Pakistani officials are the worst enemies of their own people. An example of such reckless behavior of such officials came in 2020 when a Pakistani minister claimed without evidence or investigation that most Pakistani pilots had fake licenses . While the statement was later proved wrong, it caused enormous damage to the PIA, the Pakistani flag carrier, when its flights were banned in Europe and North America.
The claim by Pakistan's labor secretary about the Gulf nations not wanting Pakistani workers is contradicted by the government's own data showing that 426,951 Pakistanis were hired by Saudi employers in 2023-24. During the same period, another 230,000 Pakistanis were offered jobs in the UAE while 60,000 Pakistanis found employment in Qatar.
The Pakistani workers in the Gulf region are also making a huge contribution to Pakistan's economy by sending home large remittances. Pakistanis in the UAE remitted $3.7 billion during the July - March 2024 fiscal year. Saudi led with $5.1 billion, followed by the UK ($3.2 billion), the US ($2.5 billion), other GCC countries ($2.3 billion), EU ($2.6 billion), Australia ($0.5 billion) and other countries ($1.3 billion).
Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, was designed using software developed by Ashraf Habibullah, a fellow NED University alumnus who founded Computer Structures Inc of Berkeley, California. The Dubai landmark was built by thousands of construction workers from Pakistan
Pakistan's weak economy is not creating enough jobs for the nation's growing working-age population. Overseas employment helps relieve the pressure. There are over 10 million Pakistanis working overseas. Last year, 832,339 Pakistanis went to work abroad, according to the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment . To ensure that this avenue of employment remains open, Pakistani leaders should be promoting, or at least not denigrating, Pakistanis working overseas.
The story of Pakistanis' pivotal role in the development of the UAE is illustrated by two high-profile examples: Emirates Airline and Burj Khalifa.
Emirates Airlines flight numbers are preceded by EK which harkens back to the carrier's first flight from Emirates to Karachi. Flight EK600 was flown by Captain Fazl Ghani Mian on 25 October 1985. PIA provided technical and management assistance to the new carrier and leased a new Boeing 737—300 and an Airbus A300B4-200.
Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, was designed using software developed by Ashraf Habibullah, a fellow NED University alumnus who founded Computer Structures Inc of Berkeley, California. The Dubai landmark was built by thousands of construction workers from Pakistan.
(Riaz Haq is a Silicon Valley-based Pakistani-American analyst and writer. He blogs at www.riazhaq.com)
