Roshan Digital Accounts: let's see what transpires.

• Author: Ahmed, Khalil

Byline: Khalil Ahmed

Mudasar, a young Pakistani adept at graphic designing, left for the UAE a couple of years ago and resided in Sharjah with his family having gotten assurances from his boss in the UAE that his job is stable and there is no need for any sort of perturbation. His confidence inflated in the wake of adulation received for his work acumen. To undergo a tantalizing foreign experience, he concurred to work in the UAE for a relatively trivial amount vis-a-vis the enormous salary he used to get in Pakistan. He was unable to save substantial amount since his salary was not hefty, however, he was always on his toes and deemed his job as a stepping stone for his career growth in a foreign country. He is back to Pakistan nowadays like hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis who lost their jobs by virtue of the pandemic. He feels it as a grave mistake to quit a stable job in Pakistan for the sake of foreign experience and in the hope of monumental amount in the long run. He has been back to Pakistan for last couple of months and is one of the job seekers in vain.

The instant Qurat-ul-Ain got her post-graduation degree two years ago, she was married to a Dubai-based Pakistani. She quit Pakistan and settled in Dubai with plenty of dreams for a prosperous future. Her spouse lost the job a year ago which compelled her to come back to Pakistan along with an infant. She has been staying in Pakistan at her parents' abode ever since she returned to Pakistan and her spouse has been traveling back and forth in search of a job in the UAE. Both the young individuals are filled with dismay because of uncertainty. Employment no longer seems lucrative in foreign countries for numerous skilled workers. Job market saturation coupled with the precedence given to the natives has wreaked havoc.

There is no denying the fact that over 11 million Pakistani diaspora could be crucial in terms of underpinning the economic growth of Pakistan. The flow of remittances has been phenomenal recently. Pakistan could receive up to $25 billion through foreign remittances, which could be a gigantic move for the sagging economy of Pakistan. The government has taken some tremendous initiatives to lure foreign investment and the flow of dollars to Pakistan. Pakistan is in dire need of foreign exchange inflows at this juncture.

The wherewithal received through the Roshan Digital Accounts has been rather encouraging with $400 million within four months. 11 million overseas...