Pakistanis | Pakistan

More than 15,800 highly educated Pakistanis have travelled abroad for employment during 2026, according to figures presented in Parliament, with professionals from fields including management, engineering, medicine and information technology among those seeking opportunities overseas.

Says arrangements are under way to bring back the bodies of three Pakistanis killed in Somalia

2 Pakistanis killed in BSF firing near Kasur

Smoking inactivity and obesity linked to growing heart risks among younger Pakistanis says NICVD expert

Multiple lawmakers among 227,000 Pakistanis targeted

Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, on Tuesday, stressed the adoption of digital technologies to provide various services to overseas Pakistanis, obviating the need for physical presence.

ISLAMABAD: The foreign ministry briefed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on enhanced consular services for overseas Pakistanis, including the digitisation of systems for services such as document attestation and foreign payments, the PMO said on Thursday. According to a statement issued by the PMO, PM Shehbaz chaired a meeting in Islamabad, where he was briefed on the progress of these initiatives by officials from the foreign ministry, the interior ministry, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the IT ministry, Pakistan’s ambassadors posted in various countries and other senior officials. The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, alongside Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Chaudhry Salik Hussain and Shaza Fatima Khawaja; Minister of State Aoun Chaudhry, Special Assistant Tariq Bajwa, and other senior officials. The briefing covered enhanced services at Pakistani embassies for overseas Pakistanis, the digitisation of the document attestation process...

Says overseas Pakistanis are valuable asset, and providing them with every possible facility is govt's top priority

“I am the captain of the MT Honour 25, requesting immediate assistance for our vessel. Our condition is extremely critical. Several members of my crew have fallen seriously ill, suffering from diabetes and infections. They are no longer able to hold on,” said Indonesian Captain Ashari Samadikun through a recorded video message dated June 16, 2026. “We are surviving solely on plain white rice and contaminated water. The company has not sent any form of assistance to us. The hijackers refuse to negotiate with any third parties; they only want to negotiate directly with the company listed on our ship’s documents.” The Honour 25 — a Palau-flagged oil tanker carrying 17 to 19 crew members, including 10 Pakistanis — was hijacked by armed pirates off the coast of Puntland, Somalia on April 21, 2026. Three months have gone by and there has been no progress either in negotiations or the payment of the ransom, said to be around $3 million, for the recovery of the hostages. Since its hijack, the crew has made several em...

ISLAMABAD: Belgium continues to offer permanent residency (PR) to eligible foreign nationals, including Pakistanis, providing an opportunity to live and work in the country on a long-term basis after fulfilling specific residency requirements.

ISLAMABAD: The number of Pakistanis reaching Europe through illegal routes declined by 64% during the first two months of 2026, reflecting the impact of the federal government's stricter immigration enforcement and anti-human smuggling measures.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday expressed gratitude to overseas Pakistanis for sending higher remittances during the fiscal year 2025-26, describing the increase as a reflection of their confidence in the government's economic policies.

Calls overseas Pakistanis valuable asset, says remittances reflected confidence in govt's policies

ISLAMABAD - The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that around 3,500 Pakistanis were deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for violating social media laws during the Iran–US conflict.

ISLAMABAD: Only two in 10 Pakistanis surveyed believe the country is on the right track, with optimism higher among some groups, a survey conducted by market research company Ipsos shows. Men are more optimistic than women, while rural residents show more optimism than those in urban areas. Of the four provinces, respondents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were the most optimistic about Pakistan’s economy. The survey also found that confidence in the country’s direction has fallen to 22pc, following a 40pc peak earlier this year amid US–Iran tensions. The drop indicates a sharp reversal of recent gains, returning to levels broadly comparable with the Covid-19 period. The survey, conducted last month, included interviews with more than 1,000 people from all four provinces of Pakistan, as well as Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The most pressing issues mentioned in the survey include economic anxiety, unemployment and inflation. When asked about the current state of the economy, only one in ...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has promised that Pakistan’s “best days lie ahead”, highlighting the country’s economic progress and inviting overseas Pakistanis to “honour their roots” and invest. The DPM delivered these remarks while addressing an Eidul Azha dinner for Pakistani-American community leaders in New York. He arrived two days ago to attend a high-level meeting of the United Nations Security Council, according to the Foreign Office (FO). According to a transcript of Dar’s speech published on Thursday, “He (Dar) stated that the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has successfully steered the country through a period of significant economic challenges toward stability.” “He further noted that Pakistan is now pursuing a path of sustainable, high-growth development aimed at improving the quality of life of its people,” the FO said. Dar spotlighted declining inflation, improved credit ratings, a strengthening external account and rising investor confidence as evidence of P...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that 11 Pakistanis and 20 Iranians, aboard vessels seized by the United States on the high seas, were successfully repatriated. Last week, Pakistan reached out to Singaporean authorities for their support in facilitating the “welfare and repatriation” of the crew members. Dar noted that the vessels were near Singaporean waters at the time. “All individuals are in good health and high spirits,” Dar wrote in a post on X, adding that the welfare of Pakistanis abroad, particularly those in distress, remains the government’s highest priority. “All individuals have reached Bangkok from Singapore and already boarded the flight scheduled to reach Islamabad later tonight,” he added. “Our [Iranian] brothers will then be facilitated to return to their homeland.” In the post, Dar extended his gratitude to Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Bala, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak ...

The interior ministry on Friday denied reports about the “targeted deportation” of Pakistanis from the United Arab Emirates, asserting that no “country- or sect-specific” expulsions from any country, including the UAE, were being carried out. The ministry’s statement contradicts claims on social media that Pakistanis were being deported from the UAE without any reason. In recent days, several media outlets have also reported that Pakistanis are being deported from the UAE. Among them, The New York Times published a report earlier today stating that the Gulf country had begun a “large-scale expulsion” of Pakistani workers. The US news outlet spoke to more than 20 Pakistani Shias who worked in the UAE, the report stated, adding that “all [the workers] said they were suddenly arrested, detained and deported in the past month”. The article linked the reported expulsion to what it described as an apparent dent in the relationship between the two countries amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. Following these repo...

• Judgement says special courts not limited to ownership, possession matters • Rules they can hear inheritance, partition, contract, transaction disputes LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has declared that special courts established for overseas Pakistanis can hear a wide range of property-related disputes, going beyond narrow questions of ownership and possession. In a judgement authored by Justice Anwaar Hussain, the court decided multiple petitions related to the scope of jurisdiction under the Punjab Establishment of Special Courts (Overseas Pakistanis Property) Act, 2025. The matter reached the high court after special courts declined to hear several cases — including suits relating to specific performance, cancellation of transactions and inheritance claims — on the grounds that such disputes fell outside their limited mandate. These matters were subsequently referred back to civil courts, prompting affected litigants, including overseas Pakistanis, to challenge the interpretation before the LHC. In o...

The Foreign Office (FO) said on Tuesday that Cambodian authorities had agreed on the early repatriation of 54 Pakistanis arrested following a raid on a “scamming compound”. The statement came after reports emerged that more than 200 Pakistanis were in the custody of Cambodian police in overcrowded facilities and facing a lack of basic facilities. In the statement issued on Tuesday, the FO said that the embassy in Cambodia had actively pursued the matter with the Cambodian government. It said that this was in line with the instructions of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to “take all possible actions aimed at facilitating the Pakistani community abroad”. “As a result of the embassy’s efforts, the host authorities have agreed to the early repatriation of 54 Pakistani nationals detained in Siem Reap province. These individuals were arrested following a raid on a scamming compound,” it said. The FO added that embassy staff were taking steps to ensure the welfare of the detained Pakistanis. “Th...