OPF recovers Rs3.79b from overseas employers

Islamabad: The Overseas Pakistanis Foundation has successfully recovered Rs3.79 billion from overseas employers and distributed it among the legal heirs of the overseas Pakistanis, who had died abroad during work, said OPF Managing Director Dr. Amer Sheikh.

He said the OPF had disbursed the claims amounting to Rs292.859 million during the year 2018 according to the procedure set out by the host countries. He said that OPF has made a lot of efforts to recover this amount through constant follow up of the cases with the help of Pakistani Missions abroad.

The MD said the recovery of dues in the form of blood money and insurance claims is a difficult job compared to realization of the outstanding amount of salary and end of service benefits from employers under the labour laws of host countries.

He said that in case of the murder of an overseas Pakistanis or accidental death (Including traffic accidents), the determination of compensation depends upon the police report which fixes the quantum of responsibility on the accused.

Such claims depend upon the decisions of the Qazi courts and as such they take lot of time. Dr. Amer said that fixation of court cases in Saudi Arabia is a time-consuming job for which OPF pushes the matter through Pakistani Mission and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia.

He said that OPF documents each and every case like a court case with the help of legal heirs and processes free of cost to materialize the claim of deceased overseas Pakistanis from abroad. He said 6868 cases are under process for realization of claims, while 9746 had been settled.

He said the OPF had been contributing in a number of areas to look after the interests of Pakistani expatriates like resolving their complaints, extending financial assistance, scholarships, discount in tuition fees in OPF schools and colleges, free ambulance service for transportation of bodies and provision of housing facilities etc.