Foreign Ministry not supporting Pakistanis abroad: Senate

Islamabad, Feb. 11 (ANI): The Pakistan Senate's Standing Committee on Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis on Tuesday criticized the Foreign Office for its 'inability' to help the country's troubled nationals working abroad.

It was observed that the Foreign Office continued to remain on the defensive stand and was "unable to convince the International community of Pakistan's innocence throughout the Mumbai terror attacks and its aftermath, the Daily Times reports.

"The Foreign Office should take a leaf out of the book of foreign diplomats, who are always ready to help their citizens in all sorts of situations. It is wrong to assume that every Pakistani abroad is an illegal resident or an alien," said the committee's members.

"They [Pakistani diplomats] behave like sahibs, and are only interested in getting permanent residency for themselves and their families," they added.

The committee also called for the training of Pakistani workers wanting to go abroad, which would comprise of education on basic laws, customs and traditions of the host countries.

Senator Enver Baig called for the launch of an awareness campaign to educate people on identifying fake agents promoting employment in foreign countries. Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid Senator Tariq Azeem suggested that the Foreign Office could also use private television channels to promote such a campaign.

Baig also asked the Labour and Manpower Ministry to explore the possibility of opening Pakistani banks abroad, especially in Spain and Italy.

"Non-coverage of Pakistani banks gives rise to hundi and hawala," he added.

Labour and Manpower Minister Khursheed Shah assured the committee that efforts would be made to provide better training to Pakistani workers. (ANI)