Appointment Of Zulfi Bukhari As PM's Special Assistant On OPF's Termed As A Welcoming Move

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Appointment of Zulfi Bukhari as PM's Special Assistant on OPF's termed as a welcoming move

"The appointment of a British national, Zulfi Bukhari as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Imran Khan on Overseas Pakistanis is welcoming news for the overseas workers who are rendering huge contributions to the country's economy in form of remittances".

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Sep, 2018 ) :"The appointment of a British national, Zulfi Bukhari as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Imran Khan on Overseas Pakistanis is welcoming news for the overseas workers who are rendering huge contributions to the country's economy in form of remittances".

This was stated by former Chairman, Board of Governors (BoG), Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) Barrister Amjad Malik in a statement on Wednesday.

"This is the first ever move to woo overseas Pakistanis with a ministerial order. As former OPF BoG chairman, in my personal capacity, I welcome this move", he said.

Congratulating the prime minister and his team, Amjad Malik said, "Imran Khan deserve applause as he is thinking on the right lines by appointing his aide on overseas from overseas nationals, which was the longstanding demand of the overseas Pakistanis".

Overseas Pakistanis especially overseas workers contribute 100 percent towards the budget of OPF, which is around two billion rupees annually. Whereas 75 percent of the budget is consumed on administration and only 25 percent is spent on welfare side of the overseas Pakistanis.

Many of the overseas Pakistanis are in detention centres and are unassisted, education facilities are next to none, airport facilitation is minimal, land mafia captures their life savings and compensation is not reflective to their contribution, he lamented.

Moreover, overseas workers were not even given the OPF membership cards for which they were entitled to start with by paying the protectorate fee to access services.

He also said that an overseas Pakistani should be the overseas minister and for that if an enactment is required to amend article 63 (1) (c) of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 then it should be done.

"We are entering into a new era, that of, Zulfi's era. So congratulations to Overseas Pakistanis, change is on to us", he said while hoping overseas Pakistanis will be given their due rights.� Barrister Amjad Malik called for ensuring parity in the process of re-appointments of CEO and members of the board and heads of Overseas Pakistanis Councils so that overseas segments remain represented.

He also pointed out towards the need to appoint more envoys in Europe, Gulf and South Asia to maximize overseas employment, raise in house foreign remittance and investment and cement bilateral economic relations on projects such as GSP plus, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Dam fund and investment on overseas five million houses.

Barrister Amjad Malik, who is also chairman of the Association of Pakistani Lawyers, served as OPF Bog chairman from April 2016 to June 2018.