Federal minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain has noticed the alleged blockage of overseas Pakistanis’ passport and has formally written to the Ministry of the Interior seeking a study.
The question was raised by Pakistan Business Forum France, whose leaders urged the government to intervene. Hussain called the case “very sensitive” and emphasized that posted should not face unnecessary difficulties.
The Minister stated that abuse of overseas Pakistanis would not be tolerated and announced that light desks would be created at airports to help them.
A letter from forum leaders, including Ibrahim Dar, Zahoor Iqbal and Aslam Chaudhry, claimed that thousands of posted have had their passport blocked, with airport staff reportedly required bribery of up to RS500,000.
Authorities have promised rapid action to investigate and solve the problem.
Previously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and the development of human resources to reintroduce the Green Channel initiative to facilitate overseas Pakistanis.
He also announced the formation of a committee to recognize distinguished diaspora members who contributed to national development.
When he spoke on the Overseas Pakistani Global Foundation Convention, the Prime Minister recognized the contributions of the Pakistani Diaspora and assured them of the government’s obligation to tackle their concerns.
