The deplorable standard of Pakistani workers in the Gulf region is causing a significant shift in employer preferences towards workers from other countries, such as Bangladesh. The six GCC countries – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain – together hired 76.3 per cent of Bangladesh’s total 1.6 crore outbound workers between 1976 and 2023, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.
According to a Dawn report, this shift is driven mainly by concerns over the high crime rate attributed to Pakistanis — reportedly 50 per cent of crimes in the UAE labour force involve Pakistani nationals. Secretary of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Arshad Mahmood painted a bleak picture of the situation of Pakistan labour force in Gulf countries before the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis, which had criticised the failure of the government to harness potentials of Pakistani diaspora.
Chaired by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, the Senate committee meeting had stressed that the government was ignoring the potentials available in this sector. Mahmood highlighted issues such as inappropriate behavior, including instances of Pakistanis making videos of women in Dubai without their consent, which has further damaged their reputation. He also noted that there was a declining trend in overseas employment for Pakistani labour force as despite modernisation and advancement in technology a significant portion of the Pakistani labour force remains unskilled, reported Dawn.
Mahmood said that the Pakistani diaspora, numbering 10.7 million and predominantly in Saudi Arabia, UAE, the US, UK, and Canada, faces increasing reservations from host countries. He told the Senate committee that in September last year, organised gangs of Pakistani beggars were found operating in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, who travelled to these countries as pilgrims. Most of these people visit Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas and Saudi authorities have reported that 90 per cent of all beggars arrested in the country, were Pakistanis, added the Dawn report.
Senator Nasir Abbas raised concerns about Pakistanis living illegally in Iraq and questioned whether the ministry can assist them, given their poor treatment. Senator Khanzada also noted the issue of Pakistanis in Italy identifying as non-Pakistanis, urging the ministry to proactively address these issues and provide necessary support to stranded Pakistanis.
