Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday unveiled a comprehensive welfare package for overseas Pakistanis, aimed at resolving longstanding legal challenges and offering a range of incentives, including education and employment job quotas, civil awards, and skill development opportunities.
Addressing the first two-day Overseas Pakistanis Convention held in Islamabad, the premier paid tribute to the expatriates for their unmatched contribution to nation-building.
Attended by over 1,200 Pakistani expatriates from across the world, the convention highlighted the contributions of more than 10 million overseas Pakistanis who the prime minister hailed as “the pride of the nation”.
The prime minister announced that the special court for overseas Pakistanis had already been established in Islamabad and would be extended to all provinces for swift resolution of legal cases filed by the expatriates.
“To support this, the government is introducing e-recording and e-filing facilities for overseas Pakistanis to provide evidence through video link from abroad without travelling to Pakistan […] I have directed Nadra (National Database and Registration Authority) to complete the project within 60 days,” he said and assured the audience of a legal amendment to curb fictitious litigation.
PM Shehbaz announced quotas in educational institutions, including a five per cent quota in all chartered universities (out of 10,000 seats) for the children of overseas Pakistanis, 5pc in the federal capital’s degree-awarding institutes and 15pc in medical colleges.
“Overseas Pakistanis will now be considered filers by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), enabling relief in banking and business transaction taxes. Moreover, NAVTTC (National Vocational and Technical Training Commission) will offer 5,000 skill development courses to children of expatriates,” he said.
Moreover, the premier said that the federal government had granted a five-year age relaxation for male overseas job applicants and a seven-year relaxation for overseas women to apply for government jobs.
Separately, special facilitation offices have been set up by the Boards of Revenue in Punjab and Balochistan, with efforts underway to replicate the initiative in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
