Pakistan mission vows to help distressed workers find jobs

The Pakistani Embassy will assist its nationals in the Kingdom to find employment opportunities before the end of the grace period under the Nitaqat program, said Ambassador Muhammad Naeem Khan.
The ambassador was speaking at an event celebrating the recent Pakistan elections at the Riyadh Palace Hotel. The event was organized by prominent Pakistani community leader Khalid Akram Rana to celebrate the victory of Nawaz Shariff.
The ambassador told workers on free visas to find employment with new sponsors as soon as possible. He asked them to register with the embassy in case of facing difficulty in securing a job under an employer.
“We have contacted several large and medium-sized companies in this regard. Many of these firms have responded positively to employing Pakistani workers,” he said.
On Wednesday, the embassy received a job offer for 3,000 Pakistanis from a company in Riyadh.
Thanking the Saudi leadership for granting the grace period, the envoy insisted that distressed workers should utilize the offer positively, either to continue their stay in the Kingdom or to leave the country and come back for legal employment.
“The embassy has designed brochures with guidelines in Urdu, including exit-pass application forms. They are available in various locations across the Kingdom,” he said.
Pakistanis should directly contact embassy officials on any working day if in need of assistance, he said.
Naeem Khan said he is trying his best to help absorb illegal Pakistanis into the Saudi labor market so that no one would be compelled to leave the Kingdom.
“We will do everything possible to see that nobody has to leave on a final-exit visa,” he said.
On the recent elections in Pakistan, Naeem Khan said, “I am glad that for the first time in the history of the country, a civilian government has been able to complete its five-year term and that a peaceful transfer of power has taken place.” The country will now be back on the road to peace, progress and prosperity.”