Islamabad, Pakistan – In the Cavernus Hall of Jinnah Convention Center in Islamabad, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif saw the country’s migrants as the “pride of the nation”, which he praised him for his “unmatched contribution” in his country.
And this was not just the case. Speaking to the audience of more than 1,000 migrants gathered to attend the Foreign Pakistanis Conference on 15 April, Sharif also promised several benefits that he would launch his government to help him.
These include special courts for foreign Pakistanis, so their legal disputes are rapidly resolved as they will be in the notorious slow judicial system of the country. Educational institutions also pledge rapid immigration procedures on quota, airports and tax benefits. Sharif also said that the government will reward 15 eminent Pakistani migrants every year.
Sharif said in his speech, “I am confident that there is no doubt that 10 million Pakistanis living around the world have earned their good reputation with their hard work and promoted the name of Pakistan.”
But many experts believe that the government’s assurance for diaspora is only more than an innocent outreach effort: it is also a political step in a fight to support foreign Pakistanis with former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is widely considered to enjoy the huge support between the country’s diaspora, which, in turn, affects it in Western capitals, stating how to see those nations to Islamabad and its deep political division.
Now, analysts say, the Sharif government is trying to break the grip of the mine on Pakistanis abroad.
“Overseas Pakistani summit had two major objectives, former Prime Minister Imran Khan was enjoyed among the migrant people to combat influence and popularity, and to encourage the community abroad to invest in Pakistan,” said the former Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, “Maliha Lodhi, the United States.
Why diaspora clout matters
Many PTI supporters living abroad enjoy the positions of influence in those countries, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States, about 1.6 million and 700,000 Pakistan-origin citizens respectively.
Former PM Khan, who was excluded from power in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote of mistrust, has been in jail since August 2023 on various charges.
His party has faced a widespread rift and alleged that the results of the general elections were heavily manipulated in February 2024, claiming that his mandate was “theft”. The government and the powerful army of the country have rejected those allegations, but have resonated among many people in Pakistan and outside it.
These allegations especially helped to run lobbying efforts in the US, due to which the Congress heard the “future of democracy” in Pakistan in March last year.
The hearing was indicated by the Bipartison call to investigate the controversial elections of Pakistan for the then President Joe Biden and State Secretary Antony Blinkin.
A few months later in October, more than 60 Democratic party legislators urged Biden to pressurize Islamabad to secure Khan’s release.
In fact, many people within PTI believe that after Trump’s inauguration, the US President, who enjoyed warm relations with Khan during his first term, can interfere and help secure the release of former PM, thanks to lobbying by diaspora.
Washington chief strategist Arif Ansar, DC-based strategic advisory firm Polyte, acknowledged the effectiveness of the migrant.
“Diaspora has been very effective in its lobbying efforts, and has impressed the installation to manage its relationship with the diaspora,” Ansar told Al Jazeera. It wants to attach them and encourage relationships as opposed to playing an adverse role. ” “Establishment” is an euphemism for the army in Pakistan.
However, the analyst said that it was also possible that the government was trying to showcase that the migrant PTI was not aligned in a unbroken.
“There are many different sections, and PTI is not the only person representing diaspora,” he said. The government, he said, eager to “build a new story”.
‘Counterfial for’ PTI Katha ‘
Meanwhile, Islamabad -based political analyst Talat Hussain believes that the government’s purpose in hosting the conference was to show that it not only has a widespread access among exits, but also to make stakeholders in his political and economic agenda.
Hussain said, “PTI claims have been enhanced through social media to have a monopoly on the political sentiments of foreign Pakistanis. Efforts such as these conferences provide a counterfone for the argument that the exits by Imran moves in the direction as per the instructions,” Hussain said.
In recent months, it has been shown how strongly Khan appears to catch the support of the diaspora.
Last December, Khan warned the government that his party would launch a civil disobedience movement, and asked the migrants to stop the money back to Pakistan.
But in 2024, Pakistan received the highest annual remittance amount in its history, reaching $ 34.1bn, growth of 32 percent from 2023, when foreign Pakistanis sent home close to $ 26BN.
And a day before Sharif’s speech at the Diaspora Convention in Islamabad, the country’s central bank governor Jamil Ahmed revealed that the migrants were sent more than $ 4bn in March, which was marked by the highest single month remittance in the history of the country.
Hussain said, “If the dispatch flow is a way to measure the efficacy of PTI’s foreign clout, the photo is not helpful for party pride,” Hussain said.
“Despite all the appeals from Imran and the entire top leadership, the dispatch increases for two consecutive years, which he calls ‘corrupt and fascist rule’, which tells you where exits are standing.”
‘I will become your CEO’
Nevertheless, like Lodhi, other analysts also believe that the Government of Pakistan also attracts the migrant as it needs to invest in the country.
Thanking foreign Pakistanis for supporting the country’s economy, Sharif said this week that he would “personally” oversee investments made by them.
“I will be your CEO. My cabinet and our business community will ensure that your investment is preserved and convenient,” he said.
Nevertheless, there is a concern whether Pakistani migrants rely on the economic environment in the country where more and more citizens are leaving.
In the last five years, about three million Pakistanis have inspired the growing concerns about the “brain drain” from the country.
However, General Syed Asim Munir, Chief of the Army, who is considered the most powerful person in the country, dismissed the concerns during his speech at the Diaspora Convention, in which the trend was described as “brain benefits”.
He said on Tuesday, “Those who talk about the brain drain should understand that it is not a brain drain, but a brain benefit.”
