News Desk |
Director General Immigration and Passports, Ishrat Ali, on Friday, stated that Pakistan seeks to enter a dual nationality pact with Spain and Germany, as Pakistanis are forced to denounce their nationalities upon gaining citizenship from these countries.
DG Immigration and Passports made these comments while addressing National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis, and also stated that Pakistan presently has dual nationality pacts with 19 countries, which include 11 European states.
Pakistan has a dual nationality agreement with the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Jordan, Iceland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Italy, Australia, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Ireland, and the United States.
The EOBI Chairman added that between the period of 2009 and 2012, the funds allocated to the organization were misused, however, the system has witnessed great improvements over the years.
Zulfi Bukhari, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis, briefed the committee as well. He informed that the government has undertaken measures to increase the number of attachés in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, while measures to bring increments in the pensions of Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) are also underway. Zulfi Bukhari, as cited by the Express Tribune, observed, “The minimum pension limit will be increased to Rs15, 000.”
Special Assistant to the PM, on Overseas Pakistanis, further added that the authorities are attempting to change the procedure for the appointment of community welfare attachés. He stated, “Employees who are aware of labor laws will be appointed.”
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Once they are appointed, all community welfare employees will have to work for the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation for at least six months. Zulfi Bukhari observed, “The number of welfare attachés will be increased where there is a higher labor force.”
During the session, the Chairman of Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) stated that currently, there are 627,000 beneficiaries and the number of insured individuals is 7.79 million. He expressed, “The EOBI has distributed Rs161.85 billion in pensions while the amount of the current EOBI funds is Rs331.78 billion.”
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The EOBI Chairman added that between the period of 2009 and 2012, the funds allocated to the organization were misused, however, the system has witnessed great improvements over the years. He further stated that the EOBI had a total number of 83 assets across Pakistan, which were worth Rs41.30 billion, however, as per the Suo Motu notices taken by the Supreme Court, 18 properties worth Rs34.48 billion have been compromised.