Pakistan welcomes amnesty extension

The government of Pakistan welcomed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s order extending the grace period to rectify the residency status of illegal workers until the end of the current Hijri year (corresponding to Nov. 3.)
“This wise decision will enable thousands of Pakistani workers to rectify their status in accordance with the new labor laws in the Kingdom,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ezaz Ahmed Chowdhary said in a statement in Islamabad yesterday.
Meanwhile, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI ) Chairman Saleh Kamel urged all workers and their sponsors to take the necessary steps to correct their status “without wasting time.”
Kamel said the extension of the grace period would benefit the private sector. JCCI Vice Chairman Mazen Batterjee said the extension is in the interest of the business sector and will boost the stability of the economy of private establishments besides contributing to speeding up steps to nationalize jobs and help with the emergence of a legitimate job market. “A fall in the number of illegal foreign workers will apparently lead to the increase in the demand for Saudi workers,” he said.