Fall in remittances may affect 5 million households.

LAHORE -- Almost five million households - who have a family member abroad - can be impacted by a fall in remittances to Pakistan.

The situation was described by Dr Rashid Amjad, Centre on International Migration, Remittances and Diaspora director, at a webinar by CIMRAD and the Lahore School of Economics on Wednesday.

The discussion highlighted the impacts of the pandemic on the current situation of overseas Pakistani workers and the government efforts to facilitate their orderly and safe return.

Kashif Noor, Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment director general, spoke about the role of the government agencies working for a smooth reabsorption of returnees. He said that the Gulf and other countries had increasingly competitive job markets.

Dr Piyasiri Wickramasekara, an international migration expert, emphasized the need for facilitating the overdue payments of workers and the protection of migrants in an irregular situation.

Remittances have been a lifeline for the Pakistani economy since several years. The Covid-19 pandemic is expected to significantly dampen these flows as economic activity in countries from which majority remittances are received shrinks.

One participant presented projections for future remittance flows...