Pakistani schools would be set up in Gulf countries to help
provide affordable education for children of the overseas Pakistani
community, Barrister Amjad Malik, the head of the board of governors of
Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF), told APP on Sunday.
He
said that the government launched various welfare programmes for
overseas Pakistanis. It is the responsibility of government to provide
maximum facilities to over 90 million overseas Pakistanis, he added.
The
Overseas Pakistanis Advisory Council (OPAC) was playing a leading role
in pursuing the interests of the community, he said, adding that the
issues of the overseas community would be resolved on a priority basis.
Barrister
Amjad Malik said that the number of overseas Pakistanis in Gulf
countries had been declining due to the political and economic
situations of the Gulf. Pakistan was looking for new labour markets to
reduce unemployment, he added.
He said he personally
visited 23 countries and held meetings with overseas Pakistanis,
addressed their issues and informed them about the upcoming welfare
projects.
Malik expressed his hope that in near future,
overseas Pakistanis would get representation in the parliament and
overseas banks would also be set up at embassy level to facilitate
overseas Pakistanis.
He said that more housing schemes
would be launched for expatriates and the OPF is planning to provide
low-cost housing to the families of deceased Overseas Pakistanis.
He
said 300 houses would be handed over to the overseas allottees in
Zone-V within in three months and after another three months, 300 more
houses would be handed over to the owners.
