Other than lip service and declarations, there are no visible steps, nor policies, to stop money laundering and flight of foreign exchange from Pakistan, which has alarming depleting foreign exchange reserves. In a country where employment opportunities are alarmingly on the decline, it is suicidal to employ those who with dual nationalities instead of giving priority to those who are qualified for those jobs and hold only a Pakistani passport.
There is no rocket science involved that the dual nationals who have settled their families abroad and bought assets there would send all their savings from money earned in Pakistan to support their families living there. The only exception should be specialists in any field for which a Pakistani national is not available. Just take the example of PIA which has almost 60% dual nationals employed as Flight and Cabin Crew, for which many Pakistanis are available since the requirement is Intermediate with science subjects and CPL for former and graduation for latter. it is a well-known fact that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being irregularly transferred by these individuals who operate these flights. Similar is the case with those performing operational duties with access to the airport. Nowhere in the region can dual nationals be employed in Customs, Immigration, Foreign Service and key financial regulatory institutions which are tasked to prevent the transfer of foreign exchange but themselves have a conflict of interest. Countries like India, Malaysia etc do not allow their nationals to hold dual nationality precisely because of their split loyalties, yet have more remittances than Pakistan.
GULL ZAMAN,
Peshawar, June 11.