Islamabad: Finance Minister Asad Umar has instructed the Overseas Pakistanis Division to conduct a comprehensive survey of non-resident Pakistanis, reported a new source. He issued these orders while chairing a meeting held with senior officials from Federal Board of Revenue and State Bank of Pakistan to ascertain the problems faced by overseas Pakistanis in sending remittances back home.
Umar also asked the FBR and SBP to finalise the proposals and incentives for promoting the practice of sending remittances via legal channels. The government is looking to put a mechanism in place to facilitate overseas Pakistanis for sending remittances through legal channels instead of hawala or hundi.
Among the prime issues, lack of banking facilities for the workers stationed in other countries is believed to be a major one. In this regard, the meeting members highlighted the procedural and technical improvements to facilitate banking transactions in this regard.
The survey to be conducted on orders of Umar will help determine the locations of the diaspora as well as their areas of origin in Pakistan. In addition to that, National Bank of Pakistan has also been instructed to have a mechanism in place for overseas Pakistani workers to have a bank account both at home and in the country they work in.
All concerned departments have been asked to share their proposals in the next meeting.
