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Saudi Arabia top contributor as Pakistan worker remittances grow 29% year-on-year

Saudi Arabia top contributor as Pakistan worker remittances grow 29% year-on-year
A man walks past a currency exchange shop in Rawalpindi on June 12, 2024. (AFP/File)
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Updated 09 October 2024
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Saudi Arabia top contributor as Pakistan worker remittances grow 29% year-on-year

Saudi Arabia top contributor as Pakistan worker remittances grow 29% year-on-year
  • Highest inflow of $681.3 million was recorded from Saudi Arabia, followed by UAE, UK, US
  • Remittances bring billions of dollars annually from overseas Pakistanis and are vital to economy
Updated 09 October 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan
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KARACHI: Pakistan recorded year-on-year growth of 29 percent in workers’ remittances with inflows of $2.8 billion in September, the central bank said on Wednesday, with the highest contributions from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 
Remittances bring billions of dollars annually from overseas Pakistanis and are vital to Pakistan’s struggling economy. These inflows bolster foreign exchange reserves, stabilize the balance of payments, and support the Pakistani currency. 
“Remittances inflows during September 2024 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($681.3 million), United Arab Emirates ($560.3 million), United Kingdom ($423.6 million) and United States of America ($274.9 million),” the central bank said.
In the first quarter of the fiscal year 2025 (Q1-FY25), Pakistan received $8.8 billion in remittances, representing a significant growth of 38.8 percent compared to the same quarter last year (Q1-FY24), central bank data showed. 
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday announced a three-time increase in monetary incentives for exchange companies to bring more remittances into the country. 
The bank increased incentives to Rs4 per US dollar for exchange companies on home remittances effective Oct. 1. According to the circular, ECs will be paid on a fixed component with a base rate of Rs2 for each US dollar of home remittances surrendered to SBP-designated banks. On the variable component, ECs will be paid Rs3 for each incremental US dollar surrendered to encourage growth in home remittances up to 5 percent or $25 million (whichever is lower) than the previous year. Further, Rs4 per US dollar will be paid against incremental remittances above 5 percent or over $25m, compared to the previous year.

Topics: Pakistan economy

Pakistan’s Punjab approves ‘largest’ mass marriage program for 3,000 underprivileged women

Pakistan’s Punjab approves ‘largest’ mass marriage program for 3,000 underprivileged women
Updated 1 min 38 sec ago
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Pakistan’s Punjab approves ‘largest’ mass marriage program for 3,000 underprivileged women

Pakistan’s Punjab approves ‘largest’ mass marriage program for 3,000 underprivileged women
  • Punjab to provide $350 cash, wedding clothes, furniture, dinner sets and household items to underprivileged girls
  • Marriages are a costly affair in crisis-ridden Pakistan, where lavish feasts and expensive clothes often drain lifetime savings
Updated 1 min 38 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

KARACHI: The government in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province has approved its largest mass marriage program for 3,000 underprivileged girls, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported this week. 

Marriages are often a costly and extravagant affair in Pakistan, placing a significant financial burden on families, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds. The traditional South Asian wedding festivities include costly ceremonies, lavish food, and ornate decorations. 

This financial burden has taken a toll on many Pakistanis as the country suffers a prolonged economic crisis characterized by soaring inflation and inflated power bills. As per local customs, the bride’s male relatives are also often expected to pay dowry to the groom’s family, with the costly condition often delaying marriages in the country. 

“The Punjab Cabinet has approved the province’s largest historical mass marriage program,” Radio Pakistan said on Tuesday. “During the meeting, the cabinet approved a project to arrange mass marriages for 3,000 underprivileged girls across Punjab.”

Under the mass marriage program, each bride will receive around $350 cash (Rs100,000) along with furniture, clothing, dinner sets and 13 essential household items, the state broadcaster said. 

Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif also directed authorities to prepare a plan for the expansion of the mass marriage program. However, government officials have not yet relayed details about the process through which girls will be deemed eligible for the program.

Mass marriages for low-income communities have been held previously in Pakistan. The practice enables often more than 100 couples to marry in a single ceremony, significantly reducing costs. They are held regularly across Pakistan, supported by government initiatives, philanthropic efforts, and community programs. 

Earlier in January, 122 Hindu couples were married in a mass ceremony hosted by the Pakistan Hindu Council in the country’s southern port city of Karachi. 

Topics: Mass marriages mass-wedding ceremony wedding

One soldier, two militants killed during gunbattle in southwestern Pakistan— military 

One soldier, two militants killed during gunbattle in southwestern Pakistan— military 
Updated 22 min 15 sec ago
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One soldier, two militants killed during gunbattle in southwestern Pakistan— military 

One soldier, two militants killed during gunbattle in southwestern Pakistan— military 
  • Militants attacked Frontier Corps checkpost in Zhob district during wee hours of Wednesday, army says 
  • Slain militants include “high-value terrorist” Umar and a suicide bomber, says army’s media wing 
Updated 22 min 15 sec ago
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan Army soldier and two “terrorists” were killed in the southwestern Balochistan province on Wednesday after militants attacked a security checkpost in the area, the army’s media wing said. 

The gunbattle took place during the wee hours of Wednesday when “a group of terrorists” attacked a Frontier Corps checkpost in Zhob district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. 

It said the militants’ attempt to infiltrate the FC camp was thwarted by security forces, adding that a suicide bomber and a high-value militant named Umar were killed during the exchange of fire. Umar was involved in attacks on security forces and civilians, including a recent assault on the convoy of the deputy commissioner of Sherani district, the army said. 

“However, during intense exchange of fire, Havildar Jamsher Khan (age: 39 years; resident of: Dera Bugti District), having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced Shahadat,” the army’s media wing said. 

Security forces have launched a sanitization operation to “neutralize any other terrorist” present in the area, the ISPR said. 

“Security forces of Pakistan, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan, and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve,” it said. 

Balochistan, which shares a porous border with Iran and Afghanistan, has witnessed a decades-long insurgency launched by ethnic Baloch separatists who have accused successive governments of unfairly exploiting the mineral-rich province of its resources, a claim denied by the state. 

Separatist militants carried out a series of coordinated attacks in Balochistan in August, mostly claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army, that killed more than 50 people and which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other leaders had said sought to harm Chinese-funded investment and development projects in the province. 

Separately, the ISPR said security forces killed two militants in a security operation in the northwestern district of Mir Ali on Wednesday. 

It said weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the slain militants, who remained actively involved in numerous “terrorist activities” against security forces and the target killing of civilians.

Topics: Zohb Militants attack

3 protesters killed in clashes with police after Pakistan banned Pashtun rights group

3 protesters killed in clashes with police after Pakistan banned Pashtun rights group
Updated 09 October 2024
AP
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3 protesters killed in clashes with police after Pakistan banned Pashtun rights group

3 protesters killed in clashes with police after Pakistan banned Pashtun rights group
  • Hundreds of protesters gathered in Jamrud town near Peshawar to protest government’s ban on Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
  • PTM accuses Pakistani military and local police of abuses against Pashtuns in its war against militants in the country 
Updated 09 October 2024
AP

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: At least three people were killed in clashes Wednesday between Pakistani police and supporters of a rights group advocating for the Pashtun ethnic minority, angered by a government ban imposed on the organization this week, local officials said.

Officers fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse hundreds of protesters who had gathered in the town of Jamrud, near the city of Peshawar to denounce the ban. Roohul Ameen, a doctor at a main local hospital said they received three bodies brought in following the clashes and about a dozen injured protesters.

Footage on social media showed police firing in the air, unleashing tear gas and wielding batons among the crowd, which responded by throwing stones at the officers.

The violence came after the government on Monday banned the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement or Pashtun Protection Movement, saying it supports the Pakistani Taliban, an outlawed militant group.

It also banned rallies by the group in the restive northwest, allegedly because the demonstrations are against the interests of Pakistan. The Pashtun Protection Movement denies backing the Pakistani Taliban.

The group was founded in 2014, after its leaders accused the Pakistani military and local police of abuses against the Pashtuns in their war against militants.

The group also says Pakistani security forces have been illegally detaining its members. The military and the government have denied all the allegations, saying their operations only target insurgents.

The group has since been waging a campaign to force the military to leave the former tribal regions in the northwest that border Afghanistan. Ethnic Pashtuns live mainly in eastern and southern Afghanistan but also all across Pakistan, in particular in parts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

The Pakistani Taliban are a militant group that is separate but also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. They have stepped up attacks in recent years mainly targeting Pakistani security forces but hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the crossfire.

Manzoor Pashteen, who heads the Pashtun Protection Movement, said the group does not accept the government ban and was determined to hold a peaceful meeting of elders on Friday in the town of Regi, a former militant stronghold in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Amnesty International on Wednesday also asked Pakistan’s government to revoke the ban on the Pashtun group.

The “latest arbitrary ban under over-broad powers of the terror law is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for South Asia, accusing the authorities of “resorting to unlawful use of force, enforced disappearances, and media bans on the coverage of protests or rallies.”

Topics: Pakistan police Pashtun Tahafuz Movement

Afghan forces suffer ‘heavy losses’ in border clashes with Pakistan— state media 

Afghan forces suffer ‘heavy losses’ in border clashes with Pakistan— state media 
Updated 09 October 2024
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Afghan forces suffer ‘heavy losses’ in border clashes with Pakistan— state media 

Afghan forces suffer ‘heavy losses’ in border clashes with Pakistan— state media 
  • Afghan forces opened fire as Pakistani personnel were repairing border fence, says state media
  • Pakistan’s security forces will not compromise on territorial integrity, warns state broadcaster 
Updated 09 October 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani forces targeted Afghan posts in an exchange of fire along the border between the two states on Wednesday, state-run media reported, saying that Afghanistan suffered “heavy losses” as a result of the skirmish. 

Clashes along the border between the neighboring countries have happened frequently in the past. In September, Pakistan said it killed eight Afghan Taliban fighters after they opened “unprovoked firing” at Pakistani forces. 

Previous clashes have led to the closure of key crossings like Torkham and Chaman, severely disrupting trade and halting the movement of people between the two states. In August, the Torkham border was shut down for three days after the Afghan Taliban announced they were investigating reports of Pakistani fighter jets allegedly violating Afghan airspace to patrol Nangarhar and Kunar provinces.

The latest skirmish between the border forces of the two countries took place along the Nushki-Ghaznali sector, Radio Pakistan said. It added that Afghan forces opened fire on Pakistani posts as Pakistani personnel were repairing the border fence between the two countries. 

“The security sources said that the Afghan forces suffered heavy losses due to effective retaliation by Pakistan,” Radio Pakistan said. “They said Pakistan will continue to take effective measures to protect its borders.”
However, the state media did not provide details of the losses it said had been inflicted on the Afghan forces. 
Citing security sources, the state broadcaster said Pakistan’s forces “will not compromise their territorial integrity.”
Pakistani officials have previously accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering and facilitating the banned militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The TTP has launched several attacks on Pakistan’s security forces since November 2022 after a fragile truce between the two sides broke down. 
Islamabad has also urged Kabul not to allow such armed factions to use Afghan territory to launch attacks in the region. The Afghan authorities, however, deny these allegations, maintaining that Pakistan’s security challenges are an internal issue for Islamabad.

Pakistan last year launched a deportation drive to expel undocumented immigrants from its country. The move impacted mostly Afghan refugees in the country, with Islamabad expelling around 700,000 Afghans. 
The deportation drive strained ties further between the two nations, with Afghanistan calling on Pakistan to avoid forcefully expelling its nationals.

Pakistan police book separatist BLA’s leadership for suicide attack targeting Chinese nationals 

Pakistan police book separatist BLA’s leadership for suicide attack targeting Chinese nationals 
Updated 09 October 2024
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Pakistan police book separatist BLA’s leadership for suicide attack targeting Chinese nationals 

Pakistan police book separatist BLA’s leadership for suicide attack targeting Chinese nationals 
  • BLA claimed responsibility for Karachi blast that killed three, including two Chinese nationals, on Sunday night
  • BLA leadership planned attack to damage Pakistan’s ties with China, harm national security, says complaint 
Updated 09 October 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistani police this week registered a case against the leadership of the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militant group for being involved in a suicide attack that targeting Chinese nationals in Karachi, saying that the attack was intended to damage Islamabad’s ties with Beijing. 
Three people, including two Chinese nationals, were killed while 10 others were injured on Sunday night in a blast near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. The BLA had claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had used a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) to target the Chinese citizens. 
According to a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) filed by Inspector Kaleem Khan Moosa of the Airport Police Station, police said BLA chief Bashir Ahmed Baloch and other leaders of the outfit had planned the attack to undermine Pakistan’s ties with China. The complaint confirmed that a VBIED was used to target the Chinese nationals. 
“An unidentified terrorist brought his Toyota Hilux vehicle very close to the convoy,” the copy of the FIR obtained by Arab News on Wednesday, said. 
“He detonated his vehicle in a suicide attack, resulting in the destruction of the convoy vehicles carrying foreign Chinese and other security officials, including Rangers, police, and other nearby vehicles, leading to casualties and injuries.”
Multiple sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act, Explosive Substance Act and Pakistan Penal Code were included in the FIR. It said the BLA leaders had planned the attack with help from accomplices with “the intent of instigating terrorism in the country.” 
“They allegedly brainwashed the unknown suicide bomber,” the FIR said, adding that the group had possibly obtained the “assistance of a foreign enemy intelligence agency.”
“Their goal was to undermine the relations between Pakistan and China, affect national security through economic disruption, and achieve financial benefits for their banned organization while instilling a sense of insecurity among the public and diminishing the morale of national security institutions,” it said. 
The complaint said that the suicide bomber was driving a vehicle with the number plate KW0375. As per the Excise and Taxation department’s records seen by Arab News, the vehicle is registered under the name of Shah Fahad, who the BLA claimed was responsible for carrying out the attack.
BLA ATTACKS ON CHINESE NATIONALS
Sunday night’s attack was the latest by the BLA, the most prominent of a number of separatist groups fighting for independence for Pakistan’s gas-and-mineral-rich Balochistan province, where a low-lying insurgency has been ongoing for the past two decades. 
Baloch militants blame Pakistan’s state for exploiting the province’s resources, a charge the Pakistani state denies. The BLA also accuses Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the province and has attacked Chinese interests and projects in the past, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. It has previously killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing’s consulate in Karachi. 
China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan, having pledged over $65 billion in road, infrastructure, and development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. 

BLA carried out its first suicide attack on a convoy of Chinese engineers in Dalbandin on August 11, 2018, by its suicide bomber Rehan Aslam Baloch.
In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in the country. In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a van at the University of Karachi.
Sunday’s airport attack followed a deadly day of coordinated attacks in August, most claimed by the BLA, that killed more than 50 people in Balochistan and which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other leaders had said sought to harm Chinese-funded investment and development projects.

Topics: Karachi blast Chinese engineers Balochistan Liberation Army

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