KARACHI – Chairman of National Business Group of FPCCI, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said the action of Prime Minister Imran Khan to remove Pakistani ambassador and staff to Saudi Arabia will boost the confidence of overseas Pakistanis.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken such strong notice of the negative behaviour of the ambassador and his staff, something that has never happened before and it will send a clear message to diplomats that any lapse in public service delivery will not be tolerated, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that PM has rightly dubbed overseas Pakistanis as an asset and he has always taken personal interest in resolving their problems.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that expats are sending 27 billion dollars per annum while our total exports are 23 billion dollars but they are not treated well by the staff of Pakistani embassies in many countries, he said.
Exports require considerable investment while there is almost no investment in expatriates who are keeping Pakistan afloat in very difficult situation and their services should be acknowledged, he added.
He noted that migrant workers face insults, bribery and extortion whenever they need to visit the Pakistani embassies which will be stopped as the government has nominated retired Lieutenant-General Bilal Akbar as Ambassador to KSA. He will bring a change as his achievements as DG Rangers are widely acknowledged by the people representing all walks of life including the business community.
The treatment meted out to Pakistani citizens by diplomats and staff is in such stark contrast to the accepted norms and staff there usually acts as kings with no regard to the dignity of people or importance of their assignment, he said.
He said that expats are not facilitated are their desperate pleas are not responded making people very unhappy while the incompetence and indifferent attitude peaked during the pandemic. Foreign Office must realize that its job extends beyond issuing statements about the Line of Control violations, etc., and its central purpose is to make the lives of Pakistanis living in other countries easier, not more difficult.
On the other hand, embassies of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and other countries provide the best possible services to their non-resident citizens all over the world.
