Pakistan on Thursday recalled its ambassador to Saudi Arabia, along with six other embassy officials over complaints of mistreatment of ex-pats in the country. Ambassador Raja Ali Ijaz was immediately replaced by retired Lieutenant General Bilal Akbar, who presented his credentials to Saudi Arabian Foreign Affairs Minister Mashari bin Ali bin Nahit.
According to a statement released by Pakistan’s Foreign Office, Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for a “high-powered inquiry committee” to investigate the matter. “The government of Pakistan attaches high importance to the welfare of overseas Pakistanis. There is zero tolerance, whatsoever, for any lapse in public service delivery,” it said, adding that Pakistani missions across the globe had been instructed to “extend maximum facilitation to the Pakistani community.” The officers in question reportedly worked in the diplomatic, community welfare, and consular wings of the embassy in Riyadh.
The Prime Minister’s Office also released a statement (link) expressing Khan’s “displeasure” with the officers. Moreover, it said that the committee will be submitting its report within 15 days and had been tasked with looking into allegations of bribery, extortion, and fleecing of Pakistani ex-pats in Saudi Arabia and recommending measures to improve the performance of such missions outside Pakistan.
Khan elaborated on the issue while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad on Thursday as well, wherein he expressed his concern over the ill-treatment of the “labour class” in Saudi Arabia by the Pakistani embassy. The premier was launching new digital schemes designed to tap the spending power of expatriates. He called them “special people” whose remittances are “keeping Pakistan running,” and said that “these workers deserve our utmost respect and the government will not spare anyone misbehaving with them.” With respect to the mistreatment of Pakistani citizens by embassies, the leader vowed to set up an inquiry mechanism to award “exemplary punishments to such officials.”
1.06 million Pakistani citizens reside in Saudi Arabia. According to the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment’s data, 87% of Pakistani ex-pats reside in Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. Moreover, in the Financial Year of 2021, the remittances to Pakistan, which mainly arrived from ex-pats working in Saudi Arabia, stood at a whopping $5.7 billion.
Seven Pakistani Officials Ordered to Return From Saudi Arabia Following Public Backlash
Following complaints by the Pakistani community in Saudi Arabia, seven officials working at the embassy in Riyadh were recalled and now face an inquiry by a “high-powered committee”.
April 30, 2021
Pakistani ambassador to Saudi Arabia Raja Ali Ijaz SOURCE: PAKISTANI EMBASSY AT SAUDI ARABIA