Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Ombudsman Salman Faruqui has desired that the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment should complete the work of automation within the organisation during the current year. In this regard a meeting was convened at the Ombudsman Secretariat under the chair of Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar, Grievance Commissioner for Overseas Pakistanis and Zafarullah Khan, Adviser.

Khokhar pointed out that a team work of all relevant departments was required to expedite the automation process for overseas Pakistani workers in a timely manner so as to benefit emigrant Pakistanis with opportunities that should be available for utilising Pakistani talents abroad and to earn precious foreign exchange for the country.

The meeting was attended by the representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, State Bank of Pakistan, the OPF, the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment and the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis.

The Director General, Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, informed the chair that the PC-1 for automation of the work of the Bureau and its regional offices (Protectorates) was almost complete and would be submitted to the ministry for overseas in next week. He informed that after the automation of 13 data fields out of 36 data field boxes presently manually filled in by Pakistanis seeking employment abroad would be filled in automatically. He also appreciated the efforts of the federal ombudsman for issuing instructions for the automation within the organisation. Ahsaan Khokhar observed that the DG BEOE should finalise all the issues of automation with the concerned government agencies within seven (7) days and to also approach the Passports Department for sharing the data information of overseas Pakistanis workers related to their departure and arrival so that exact numbers should come to the surface and the copy of the reference may also be endorsed to the WMS so as to coordinate and expedite the formal approval required for implementing the automation process.

The meeting was informed that at present Pakistani nationals seeking employment abroad have to deposit fees in three separate banks/accounts to cover the OPF/State Life Insurance Corporation/BEOE dues and there was a need to try and to centralise all such deposits to be made with the National Bank of Pakistan.

Khokhar emphasised that a strategy should be designed by all the relevant departments that Foreign Exchange Remittance Cards (FERC) should be issued along with the NICOP and to make another strategy that the life insurance cover should be increased from two years to five years to facilitate the overseas Pakistanis. He opined that in this regard a meeting should be arranged at the finance ministry of all the relevant departments.

Khokhar said that every year millions of Pakistanis were going abroad for jobs and were sending their remittances from different channels therefore, with the joint efforts of all the concerned departments, these overseas Pakistanis should be instigated to send their remittance through proper banking systems, Therefore, he said that a strategy should be devised for an easy opening of an overseas workers bank accounts before their departure and should include the services of on-line as well as ATM payments. He directed that for this purpose the Bureau should take on board all the stakeholders and submit a compliance report.

Khokhar directed the OPF and the Bureau to contact the PTA for the establishment of a dedicated help line for Pakistanis seeking employment abroad. He told the ministry of finance to consider changes in the procedure regarding the Foreign Exchange Remittance Card (FERC) and allow the issuance of the card along with the NICOP without any limit of remittance, which is now $2500 and then the State Bank of Pakistan would accordingly issue the instructions to all scheduled banks to open an “Asan Account” on the production of the FERC, within 24 hours to facilitate overseas Pakistanis workers.

Khokhar also said that by taking these steps the problems of millions of overseas Pakistanis workers would be resolved within the shortest possible time at the departmental level and would also increase the pace of home remittances through proper channels and and at the same time it would provide a mechanism for the early issuance of the NICOP, opening of bank accounts, finalisation of insurance and Protectors’ issues.

The next meeting on the subject will be held next month.