The Covid effect

The Covid-19 pandemic has not affected just the health of people. While the local economy has of course been hit by the closing down of restaurants, small businesses, and the work done by domestic labour, carpenters and other people, this also had a far more far-reaching effect. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that have stopped work visas for most categories of Pakistanis, though some badly needed professionals are being allowed, such as doctors and those working in key sectors. However, the blockage in work visas means the remittances, on which families across the country depend, are no longer coming in. As a result, people are struggling more than ever before. We do not yet know how long this blockage will last. This is obviously a matter which will have an impact on all those working in the Gulf states, although the number of those who have been able to find jobs in Oman, Bahrain and other countries without visa restrictions, has gone up to some degree.

This is a matter Pakistan needs to deal with more earnestly. While nations such as those in the Far East have been able to control the virus to such an extent that people travelling from those countries to others are in many cases not even required to quarantine, Pakistan is a nation locked in a desperate struggle against an increasingly rampant surge of the virus. This virus has already torn into the heart of the economy, and remittances from the Gulf were of course a key part of this economy. Pakistan is badly in need of foreign exchange reserves. The reduction in remittances will of course mean that these reserves are worse hit than before and there is less put into the coffers of the State Bank and from there other banks across the country.

As the Covid pandemic began, we have already seen the rupee fall against other currencies. This is not encouraging. Pakistan is already facing multiple challenges on the foreign policy front. It cannot afford to come across to the world as a nation that is unable to prevent the spread of Covid-19.