Siraj urges govt to restore direct flights to Saudi Arabia

TIMERGARA: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq on Sunday said visas of over 80,000 expatriate workers hailing from Dir were about to expire, urging the government to help resume direct flights to Saudi Arabia.

Speaking at a gathering of party workers at his native village Samar Bagh in Lower Dir, he said hundreds of families were facing financial issues in the prevailing situation.

He said that thousands of people working abroad would lose jobs if the government did not restore the direct flights to Saudi Arabia.

“Overseas Pakistanis play a key role in the economic development of the country as they send remittances worth billions of dollars every year,” Sirajul Haq added.

The overseas Pakistanis, he said, were compelled to take flights through Bahrain and Uzbekistan costing extra money.

Sirajul Haq said the government had failed on all fronts and the poor were bearing the brunt of price-hike.

The government, he added, had raised the prices of petroleum products and electricity.

He said the country was under huge debt owing to the flawed policies of the rulers.

He alleged that the government was plotting to rid the next general election through the electronic voting machines.