The Pakistani mission is set to launch a courier service within a month for the delivery of passports to save expatriates’ time and to minimize crowding at the consulate. Announcing this at an iftar dinner on Wednesday, Pakistan Consul General Aftab Khokhar said that with the introduction of the courier service, Pakistani nationals need not come to the consulate to pick up their passports as was the practice earlier. Stating that the consulate was also planning to organize more job fairs at the Pakistan International School in Jeddah, to allow a greater number of Pakistani workers to rectify their status, Khokhar had a word of praise for the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) which had extended all help to expatriate workers including setting up a website to bridge the gap between employees and employers. “The initiative taken by the JCCI leadership is very unique. The chamber is known for promoting and protecting the interest of employers and the website would be of immense help to the employees,” he said, adding that the job fairs the consulate is planning to hold is also part of the initiative to tackle issues effectively. Khokkar highlighted that the consulate had issued 15,000 travel documents to people who wanted to go back, but so far only 2,500 people had cleared the biometric process. “Realistically speaking, it is impossible to clear the process in the remaining time,” he added. “We need to focus on these problems and try to solve them with the help of the JCCI and the Labor Ministry,” he said. Emphasizing on the need to rectify employment status before the amnesty period comes to an end, Khokhar urged all the members of the Pakistani community to spread the message to those who want to rectify their problems to take it up before it is too late. “It is the duty of every Pakistani community member to spread the message to all those who are eligible under the amnesty to rectify their status now, as they have time and there is not that much crowd. Those who have not registered with the Consulate so far should do so immediately to avail of the concessions,” he said, and assured that the Consulate will do everything to help them. The Consul General thanked Raja Arshad Hussain for organizing the iftar dinner, which was held in a pleasant atmosphere.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 02:31:49 +0000
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