Islamabad, Pakistan – In the cavernous hall of the Jinnah Convention Center in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif praised the country’s diaspora as the “pride of the nation”, praising them for their “unique contribution” to the country they have left.
And it was just talking. Speaking to an audience of more than 1,000 expatriates who had met to participate in the Pakistanis convention abroad on April 15, Sharif also promised a range of benefits that said that their government would be launched to help them.
These include special courts for Pakistani abroad, so their legal disputes are resolved faster than they would be in the country’s judicial system of the country. The quotas in educational institutions, faster immigration procedures in airports and tax benefits are also compromised. Sharif also said that the government would grant 15 eminent Pakistani expatriates every year.
“I think there is no doubt that the 10 million Pakistani living worldwide have earned their good reputation with their hard work and promoted the name of Pakistan,” Sharif said in his speech.
But many experts believe that the bouquet of government guarantees for the diaspora is more than an innocent dissemination effort: it is also a political movement in a battle for the support of the Pakistani abroad with former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
It is widely believed that Khan’s game in Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) enjoys support between the country’s diaspora, which in turn gains its influence on the western capitals, shaping those nations to see Islamabad and Itp political.
Now, analysts say, the Sharif government is trying to break Khan’s control over the Pakistani abroad.
“The Overseas Pakistani Summit Seemed To Have Two Key Objectives, To Counter The Influence and Popularity Jailed Former Prime Minter -Heitehi Amassad, Certee -Lodhi Amtee’s Amassads Jazeera.
Why does the influence of the diaspora import
Many PTI supporters who live abroad enjoy influence positions in those countries, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States, with almost 1.6 million and 700,000 citizens of origin of Pakistan who reside there, respectively.
Former Prime Minister Khan, who was expelled from power in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote of non -confidence, has been in jail since August 2023 for several positions.
His party has faced a radical repression and alleges that the results of the general elections in February 2024 were heavy manipulated, they claim that his mandate was “stolen.” The government and the powerful military of the country have rejected those accusations, but have found resonance among many in Pakistan, and outside it.
These accusations helped boost lobbying efforts, particularly in the United States, which led Congress to hold an audience about the “future of democracy” in Pakistan in March last year.
That hearing was promoted by the so -called bipartisan for then President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Shine to analyze the controversial elections of Pakistan.
A few months later, in October, more than 60 legislators of the Democratic Party urged Biden to press Islamabad to ensure Khan’s liberation.
In fact, many within PTI believe that after the inauguration of Trump, the president of the United States, who enjoyed warm ties with the duration of Khan in his first term, could intervene and help ensure the release of the former prime minister, thanks to the lobbying of the scarf.
Arif Ansar, head of the Strategic Advice Company based in Washington, DC, recognized the effectiveness of the lobbying of the diaspora.
“The diaspora has been very effective in their lobbying efforts, and this has influenced the exhibition to manage their relationships with the diaspora. It is to roam for involving them and encouraging ties instead of assuming an adversary role. The” establishment “is a euphemism for the military in Pakistan.
However, the analyst added that it was also possible that the government was trying to demonstrate that the diaspora was not monolithic aligned with the PTI.
“There are many different segments, and PTI is not the only one that represents the diaspora,” he said. The government, he added, seemed anxious to “build a new narrative.”
‘Brochure to the PTI narrative’
Meanwhile, the political analyst based in Islamabad, Talat Hussain, believes that the objective of the government when organizing the convention was to demonstrate that it not only has a broad scope among the expatriates, but also wants to turn them into interested parties in their political and economic agenda.
“PTI’s claims to have the monopoly about the political feelings of Pakistani abroad are amplified through social networks. Efforts like these provide provide a refulio to the argument that expatriates move in the direction in the direction.” “
The last months have shown cracks in which Khan seems to have the support of the diaspora.
Last December, Khan warned the government that the party would launch a movement of civil disobedience and asked the diaspora to stop sending money to Pakistan.
But 2024 saw Pakistan receive the annual annual remittance amount in their history, reaching $ 34.1 billion, an increase of 32 percent since 2023, when the Pakistani abroad sent home about $ 26 billion.
And one day before Sharif’s speech at the Diaspora Convention in Islamabad, Jamil Ahmed, the governor of the Central Bank of the country, revealed that the Pakistani diaspora sent more than $ 4 billion in March, the most similar to a single month of the two months.
“If remittance entries are a way of measuring the effectiveness of PTI’s influence, then the image is not useful for the parties,” said Hussain.
“Two years of increases consisting of remittances, despite all Imran appeals and all the main leadership so as not to send money to what he calls a” corrupt and fascist regime “says where the expatriates are.”
‘I will be your CEO’
However, like Lodhi, other analysts also believe that the Pakistan government is also courting the diaspora because it needs them to invest in the country.
Thanking the Pakistani abroad for supporting the country’s economy, Sharif said this week that “personally” would supervise the investments made by them.
“I will be your CEO. My cabinet and our business community will ensure that their investments are protected and facilitated,” he said.
Even so, the delayed concerns of whether the diaspora trusts the economic climate in a country where more and more citizens leave.
In the last five years, almost three million Pakistani have emigrated, according to government data, which caused Conerns increasing about a “brain leak” of the country.
However, General Syed also Munir, the head of the Army that is considered widely the most powerful figure in the country, dismissed those concerns during his speech at the Diaspora Convention, describing the trend in his place. “Brain gain”.
“Those who talk about brain drainage should understand that this is not a brain leak, but rather brain gain,” he said Tuesday.