Jeddah : The Pakistan Journalists Forum, the oldest organisation of Pakistani journalists in Saudi Arabia, has welcomed the statement of Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Shahbaz Sharif in which he appreciated the remittances of overseas Pakistanis on the occasion of the International Day of Family Remittances.
It should be noted that Pakistan is celebrating the International Day of Family Remittances along with the international community. The Pakistan Journalists Forum said in its statement that overseas Pakistanis have given a positive boost to the economy of the beloved country by working abroad and contributing their remittances to the economy of the beloved country. Despite this, in the recent past, some politicians have launched a campaign to prevent overseas Pakistanis from sending remittances through legal means, but overseas Pakistanis, ignoring such misleading instructions, have always sent as much as possible to the beloved country. And this amount has increased so much that the Prime Minister of Pakistan and other government ministers have praised the patriotic spirit of overseas Pakistanis.
This year 34.9 billion dollars have been sent back to the homeland by overseas Pakistanis, which is 28.8% more than the previous remittances. The Pakistan Journalists Forum has said in its statement that the amount of remittances sent from the Gulf and Saudi Arabia has always been the highest, but the forum feels that the delegates participating from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf in the recent overseas conventions did not get the reception they deserved, nor were they given the opportunity to make statements and speeches, which was felt strongly by the Pakistanis participating from Saudi Arabia.
The forum statement praised the statement of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in which he directed Pakistani embassies and consulates established abroad to immediately redress the grievances of overseas Pakistanis and provide them with all possible assistance. The forum expressed the hope that this statement of the Deputy Prime Minister will not be limited to a statement and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also make it possible to implement this statement. The forum’s statement has requested the Prime Minister to issue an order to the Ministry of Interior to take care of people coming from Pakistan abroad, so that people who harm the name of Pakistan abroad, such as beggars and illegal immigrants, are not allowed to enter the country. Working people should not come abroad because the forum believes that the arrival of skilled and capable people abroad can not only brighten the name of Pakistan but also lead to more exchange with the Gulf and Saudi Arabia.
The statement said that the government did not appreciate the services of overseas Pakistanis in the recent budget. It is not enough to just call them the backbone. The signatories of the statement include senior journalists abroad.