Dubai: After granting voting rights to overseas Pakistanis, legislation is in the process to set up special ‘speedy courts’ to settle their disputes within 90 to 180 days.
“We are in the final phase of opening special fast-track courts for overseas Pakistanis to settle their cases, especially those involving property and land-grab on priority,” said Ayub Afridi, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.
Afridi was speaking at a reception organised in Dubai on Thursday by the Pakistan Consulate General in Dubai to facilitate interaction with community members in the UAE. This was Afridi’s first meeting with overseas Pakistanis in the UAE after taking charge of his new position recently. A large number of Pakistani community members from across the UAE were invited to the event. Asad Qaiser, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, also met community members.
During the meeting, a number of community members raised concerns about the promises made to them by various ministers during their visits to Dubai in the last few years. Some especially pointed out the high-handedness of the ‘mafia’ grabbing their lands and ‘fake’ property developers cheating them in various housing schemes.
‘Developing a mechanism’
Afridi, who had lived in Dubai for about 19 years, from 1995 to 2014, assured them that he would help them solve this issue because he himself had faced such problems while living abroad. “I understand your issues because I also spent my life abroad, mainly in the UAE. I am developing a mechanism to take care of all your issues,” he said.
Fast-track courts had also been announced earlier by Afridi’s predecessor, Zulfqar Bukhari, during his visit to Dubai in 2019, but there have hardly been any progress so far.
Afridi assured that the ‘speed’ courts would be operational as soon as the parliament approves the draft law.
Preventing illegal possession
Land-grabbing and property disputes are major issues that overseas Pakistanis are facing in their country. While they are abroad, gangs or even their own relatives sometimes take illegal possession of land or houses. The civil cases in normal courts drag on for decades. The issue was highlighted and brought to the notice of Prime Minister Imran Khan who ordered to resolve it on a priority basis. Around ten million Pakistanis live outside their country, including 1.6 million in the UAE and they are a major source of foreign remittance.
Afridi said that the government had already approved legislation to give voting rights to overseas Pakistanis to meet their long-standing demand. “Now you can have a voice in electing your future leaders without needing to travel to Pakistan to cast your votes,” he added.
Facilitating travel abroad
“We are also working on a plan to give interest-free loans of Dh25,000 to Dh40,000 to help them cover visa and ticket expenses if they want to come to the UAE or any other Gulf country for work. “Earlier, our poor people would sell their land or take loans at high interest rates to travel abroad and it always became difficult for them to pay back those debts. Our initiative will help them start their career abroad,” he added.
Afridi said that the government was also working on plans to provide training to unskilled workers to meet their job requirements abroad.
Speaking on the occasion, Asad Qasir, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, thanked the UAE leaders for helping Pakistanis since the COVID-19 pandemic hit two years ago. “UAE has been Pakistan’s fast friend during tough times and our Prime Minister Imran Khan has special relations with the UAE leadership,” he noted.
‘Contact the missions’
He said Pakistan was exploring new markets in Central Asian countries. He said that Pakistan would soon become a hub of trade after the new trade routes opened through Afghanistan to Central Asian countries.
In his address, Afzaal Mahmood, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE, said that the top priority of Pakistani missions in the UAE is to serve the community and solve their issues — whether in the UAE or back home. He urged community members to register their complaints through officials channels provided by the various departments in the UAE. “You can also contact the missions as we are here to serve you all,” he added.
Qaiser also apprised the audience about the existing situation in Pakistan. He said that Pakistan had been facing acute economic challenges. “Your remittances have been a great relief to help ease economic woes,” he said, adding that the country received the second-largest amount of remittance of $6 billion (Dh22 billon) from some 1.6 million Pakistanis living in the UAE.
‘Expanding consular services’
Pakistan Ambassador Afzaal Mahmood revealed that the government was working on a plan to build new buildings for Pakistani Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in the UAE to cope with the increasing number of community members visiting the missions. “We will soon expand the capacity of consular services at the embassy as a temporary solution before adding more office blocks to the existing building,” he said.
Consul General Hassan Afzal Khan thanked the UAE for helping Pakistanis during the pandemic for the last two years. He said Pakistanis in the UAE are the second largest overseas community after Saudi Arabia and they have been playing a vital role in building bridges between the UAE and Pakistan in addition to supporting the country through their investment and remittances.
He urged Pakistani community members to register their complaints through the official complaint centres set up by different departments in the UAE.
