'No ban on export of Pakistani workforce to UAE,' Bukhari says

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari on Thursday dispelled the notion that the United Arab Emirates has banned the issuance of visas to Pakistani workers.

According to a tweet by PTI, to dispel such reports, Bukhari got in touch with the UAE Minister of Human Resource and Emiratisation and spoke to him about the issues faced by the Pakistani workforce in the UAE.

Bukhari, in a statement of his own on Twitter, said that "contrary to media reports", Minister Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli "categorically stated there is no ban on the export of Pakistani workforce".

Bukhari went on to state that there has been an 11% increase in UAE in knowledge workers from Pakistan.

According to the statement, workers, including Pakistanis, laid off due to COVID-19 restrictions, and which were registered on the Virtual Labour Market Database "are given priority".

The aide on overseas Pakistanis further stated that "10-year golden visa applications are also being encouraged".

Bukhari thanked Thani Al Hamli for his continued support. "Looking forward to continued collaboration with UAE leadership to address the issues of our diaspora," he added.