ISLAMABAD:Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan Monday informed the Senate that the government has taken steps to solve the problem of Pakistanis living abroad.
Winding up the debate on a motion moved by Seemee Ezdi to discuss the steps taken by the government towards implementation of National Emigration and Welfare Policy for Overseas Pakistanis 2020, he said there were around 8.4 million Pakistanis living abroad and sending remittances in the country regularly.
“The present government has taken several steps to provide facilities to Pakistanis abroad,” he said, adding the civil courts structure was being reformed so that investment facilities could be provided to expatriate Pakistan for more investment in the country.
The minister said $29.4 billion remittances were sent by the overseas Pakistanis in 2021 and a policy was being formulated for the welfare of the overseas Pakistanis.
Earlier, he said remittances were sent through illegal means like ‘Hundi,’ but now the overseas Pakistanis were sending their money through a legal channel of Roshan Digital Account (RDA), recently introduced by the government.
Ali Muhammad said the complaints of Pakistanis abroad were being resolved through various portals without any undue delay.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had made them a stakeholder and information about the legal issues of Pakistanis living abroad could be obtained from the Foreign Ministry.
He said overseas Pakistanis were being given their legitimate right to vote through the internet-voting facility.
Senator Seemee Ezdi said Pakistanis living abroad were an important asset and backbone of the country, which had been ignored in the past.