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Op-Ed: Pakistanis pay price as Islamabad joins Turkey-Iran-Malaysia bloc

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Additionally, the Saudis and UAE would not have allowed the criticism of India and its policies in Indian Occupied Kashmir at the OIC.

Of course, it is possible that the UAE is charting a separate course from the Saudis on this, though I am not sure to what perceived benefit, other than just following US diktat on bolstering India.
Idk how many times Pakistan/Pakistanis have to be kicked around before some shame and realization kicks in. Focus on building a strong economy should be number one priority. It will not happen overnight...but just keep ur head down and keep working at it. So long as we rely on other countries(for jobs/remittances/loans/aid)...they can treat us like their servants. In this world...respect can only be commanded from a position of power.
 
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Additionally, the Saudis and UAE would not have allowed the criticism of India and its policies in Indian Occupied Kashmir at the OIC.

Of course, it is possible that the UAE is charting a separate course from the Saudis on this, though I am not sure to what perceived benefit, other than just following US diktat on bolstering India.

To be honest with you, 3 main parties like KSA, UAE & Iran have done nothing so far concrete for Kashmir except for at-least statements, if we go by such argument. Whether KSA or UAE didn't allow criticism in OIC, Iran been in this by way of close business ties with India and for expected investment which kept Tehran to never support Kashmir or Pakistan stance against India given Delhi's hostile approach, even being out of the OIC. I mentioned these three nations given the M.E conflicts between both parties and our role to mediate and not to side with anyone. India is favoured by one party or another because Pakistan didn't favour them in their own standing against each other. So whether UAE or Iran, that is where India benefitted while few of us been pointing fingers at either one or another party in M.E. Bolstering India is not just US dictate because Iran is not under D.C pressure at all. I see such bolstering in different manners as compare to any dictation. Agreed that in-case of UAE, there is possibility of US diktat but not as a whole of the case.

If we separate UAE in this argument, I think Pakistan's influence as well as presence in UAE as compare to India could have threatened or triggered Israeli concerns or something related to their new peace agreement. For that matter and to avoid any regret, acting in caution given Pakistan's approach for Israel, I am not saying that as a fact but might be a possibility for an alleged ban without any explanation as such.
 
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Nikkei news giving a platform to a bogus analyst with 0 credibility. Pakistan has not joined any so called block because there is none and it continues to have good ties with KSA/UAE.

There simply is not a big demand in Dubai for skilled labourers at the moment due to COVID. Hell most of the foreign skilled white collared workers have returned to their home countries,,,

There is simply nothing the royal sheihkdoms can do to threaten Pakistan, whereby if Pakistan wanted to hurt them then it could be an Iran on steroids in that region.
 
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There is ban on issuance of new work visas ...yes the old one can be renewed ..irony is the supposed bloc is not in existence even.....great diplomacy ....first we ran to KSA for explanations and now this...
Don't know about KSA, my friend received his work visa last week. And it's a new visa. Another one got a new one two weeks back.
 
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UAE blocks key source of income as it refuses to issue work visas to Pakistanis


https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpsh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4%2Fimages%2F0%2F5%2F1%2F9%2F30999150-4-eng-GB%2FCropped-1607007851RTX6G4Q0.JPG

ADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writer

KARACHI -- Pakistan's overseas laborers are paying the price for one of their government's foreign policy decisions now that the United Arab Emirates has banned them from receiving work visas. Islamabad lost favor with Gulf states after it tried to align itself with a Turkey-Iran-Malaysia bloc challenging Saudi Arabia's leadership of the Muslim world.
The UAE last month temporarily banned the citizens of 13 Muslim majority countries, including Pakistan, from receiving work and visit visas. At the time, it was speculated that the ban was a measure to help prevent the coronavirus's spread.
COVID-19 data from World Health Organization now throws this into question.

Per WHO, Pakistan had 1,813 COVID-19 cases per 1 million people at the end of November. In India, the number was 6,883. Still, Pakistanis, not Indians, were barred from receiving UAE visas. Local reports have since put the ban down to unspecified security concerns.
About 1.3 million laborers from Pakistan have found jobs in the UAE during the past five years. In October, a month before the visa ban, Pakistan received of $2.28 billion in remittances from its overseas workers, $504 million of which came from the UAE, the second-largest source, after Saudi Arabia.
The visa refusals will keep precious foreign remittances from flowing into Pakistan's struggling economy. But the ban packs something of a double blow: To the dismay of Islamabad, the UAE jobs Pakistanis used to fill are now going to the citizens of archrival India.

https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpsh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4%2Fimages%2F_aliases%2Farticleimage%2F7%2F2%2F5%2F0%2F31000527-1-eng-GB%2Fsource-of-pakistani-workers-remittance.png

According to a local media report, a recruitment agency in Rawalpindi, Pakistan's fourth-largest city, in Punjab Province, has experienced a flight of 3,000 UAE openings to India.
James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore, says the UAE has recently liberalized its visa regime to attract highly skilled expatriates. Therefore, political factors cannot be ruled out in Abu Dhabi's decision to ban Pakistanis from receiving visas. "If UAE is preferring Indian labor over Pakistani," he told Nikkei, "then it's due to the importance of India for UAE."

Experts link the UAE's blacklisting to disruptive foreign policy decisions made by Islamabad.
Malik Siraj Akbar, a South Asia-based analyst in Washington, believes that despite a weak and dependent economy, Pakistan maintains an assertive foreign policy which often ends up irking more economically powerful countries. "If a foreign policy stance hurts a country's economy and ends up annoying one or two countries," Akbar told Nikkei, "then it is simply flawed and needs to be reviewed."

Experts link the UAE's decision to Pakistan's alignment with Turkey, Iran and Malaysia. Last December, these countries held the Kuala Lumpur Summit to challenge the Saudi-dominated Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC. Pakistan backed out of the summit at the last moment when Saudi Arabia reportedly threatened it with economic sanctions.
https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpsh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4%2Fimages%2F_aliases%2Farticleimage%2F7%2F0%2F7%2F0%2F31000707-6-eng-GB%2FCropped-1607012080GettyImages-1198354620.jpg

But eight months later, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi criticized the OIC for not taking a firm stance against India on the Kashmir issue. Consequently, Saudi Arabia demanded Pakistan repay $3 billion that the kingdom had lent it earlier in 2019 for balance of payments support. Experts see the UAE's visa decision as a continuation of the Gulf state's diplomatic hostility toward Pakistan.

The S. Rajaratnam School's Dorsey says Islamabad's alignment with Turkey is linked to the growing popularity of Turkey in Pakistan. "Turkey is more vocal on Kashmir, as opposed to Gulf states, and it's natural that Pakistan will align itself with Turkey rather than UAE or Saudi Arabia," he said.

Another foreign partner is also bolstering Pakistan's mettle.
"Pakistan has gained a lot of confidence in the realm of foreign policy since the announcement of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," said Akbar, referring to a key part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road megaproject. He added that with nearly unlimited and unconditional support from Beijing, Islamabad now has the backbone to take a stronger stance toward the Middle East.

Some experts also see Israel playing a role in the UAE's decision to ban work visas to Pakistanis. Last week, local media quoted Prime Minister Imran Khan saying the U.S. and other friendly countries are pressuring Pakistan to recognize Israel. Experts believe the friendly countries are the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Hasaan Khawar, a retired civil servant and currently a public policy analyst based in Islamabad, says the Abraham Accords, a U.S.-brokered agreement between the UAE and Israel to normalize relations, could be at the root of Abu Dhabi refusing to issue visas to Pakistani laborers.

"Security has been cited as the key reason for this ban," he told Nikkei, "which is highly likely given that [the] UAE has recently entered into [the] Abraham Accords."


I can confirm and state this is fake news......

I just had my employment visa renewed
 
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They mistreat all migarnt workers in the Gulf Arab states. These Arabs today are not loyal. It is best if pakistan makes new friendships. I remember when these barbarians bombed Yemen they wanted Pakistan to send troops to fight on the ground. Pakistan rejected and these swines thretened Pakistan with major consequences. Even as allies they have always favoured india. Let Indians enslave these Arabs.
 
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Just think about it.. our cricket team that has landed in NZ.. almost 8 people have come positive.. while all of them were tested before boarding..
Idle conjecture is inadvisable. It is likely that one or two picked up the virus at an airport or in transit. The team's quarantine upon arrival in nZ was substandard, hence the virus transmitted quickly to others. By the time quarantine was tightened, it was too late.
 
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Idle conjecture is inadvisable. It is likely that one or two picked up the virus at an airport or in transit. The team's quarantine upon arrival in nZ was substandard, hence the virus transmitted quickly to others. By the time quarantine was tightened, it was too late.
Do you really believe that they picked up the virus in transit?

Anyway, I stated I didn't want to list down all the reasons here.
 
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UAE blocks key source of income as it refuses to issue work visas to Pakistanis


https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpsh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4%2Fimages%2F0%2F5%2F1%2F9%2F30999150-4-eng-GB%2FCropped-1607007851RTX6G4Q0.JPG

ADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writer

KARACHI -- Pakistan's overseas laborers are paying the price for one of their government's foreign policy decisions now that the United Arab Emirates has banned them from receiving work visas. Islamabad lost favor with Gulf states after it tried to align itself with a Turkey-Iran-Malaysia bloc challenging Saudi Arabia's leadership of the Muslim world.
The UAE last month temporarily banned the citizens of 13 Muslim majority countries, including Pakistan, from receiving work and visit visas. At the time, it was speculated that the ban was a measure to help prevent the coronavirus's spread.
COVID-19 data from World Health Organization now throws this into question.

Per WHO, Pakistan had 1,813 COVID-19 cases per 1 million people at the end of November. In India, the number was 6,883. Still, Pakistanis, not Indians, were barred from receiving UAE visas. Local reports have since put the ban down to unspecified security concerns.
About 1.3 million laborers from Pakistan have found jobs in the UAE during the past five years. In October, a month before the visa ban, Pakistan received of $2.28 billion in remittances from its overseas workers, $504 million of which came from the UAE, the second-largest source, after Saudi Arabia.
The visa refusals will keep precious foreign remittances from flowing into Pakistan's struggling economy. But the ban packs something of a double blow: To the dismay of Islamabad, the UAE jobs Pakistanis used to fill are now going to the citizens of archrival India.

https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpsh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4%2Fimages%2F_aliases%2Farticleimage%2F7%2F2%2F5%2F0%2F31000527-1-eng-GB%2Fsource-of-pakistani-workers-remittance.png

According to a local media report, a recruitment agency in Rawalpindi, Pakistan's fourth-largest city, in Punjab Province, has experienced a flight of 3,000 UAE openings to India.
James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore, says the UAE has recently liberalized its visa regime to attract highly skilled expatriates. Therefore, political factors cannot be ruled out in Abu Dhabi's decision to ban Pakistanis from receiving visas. "If UAE is preferring Indian labor over Pakistani," he told Nikkei, "then it's due to the importance of India for UAE."

Experts link the UAE's blacklisting to disruptive foreign policy decisions made by Islamabad.
Malik Siraj Akbar, a South Asia-based analyst in Washington, believes that despite a weak and dependent economy, Pakistan maintains an assertive foreign policy which often ends up irking more economically powerful countries. "If a foreign policy stance hurts a country's economy and ends up annoying one or two countries," Akbar told Nikkei, "then it is simply flawed and needs to be reviewed."

Experts link the UAE's decision to Pakistan's alignment with Turkey, Iran and Malaysia. Last December, these countries held the Kuala Lumpur Summit to challenge the Saudi-dominated Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC. Pakistan backed out of the summit at the last moment when Saudi Arabia reportedly threatened it with economic sanctions.
https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpsh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4%2Fimages%2F_aliases%2Farticleimage%2F7%2F0%2F7%2F0%2F31000707-6-eng-GB%2FCropped-1607012080GettyImages-1198354620.jpg

But eight months later, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi criticized the OIC for not taking a firm stance against India on the Kashmir issue. Consequently, Saudi Arabia demanded Pakistan repay $3 billion that the kingdom had lent it earlier in 2019 for balance of payments support. Experts see the UAE's visa decision as a continuation of the Gulf state's diplomatic hostility toward Pakistan.

The S. Rajaratnam School's Dorsey says Islamabad's alignment with Turkey is linked to the growing popularity of Turkey in Pakistan. "Turkey is more vocal on Kashmir, as opposed to Gulf states, and it's natural that Pakistan will align itself with Turkey rather than UAE or Saudi Arabia," he said.

Another foreign partner is also bolstering Pakistan's mettle.
"Pakistan has gained a lot of confidence in the realm of foreign policy since the announcement of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," said Akbar, referring to a key part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road megaproject. He added that with nearly unlimited and unconditional support from Beijing, Islamabad now has the backbone to take a stronger stance toward the Middle East.

Some experts also see Israel playing a role in the UAE's decision to ban work visas to Pakistanis. Last week, local media quoted Prime Minister Imran Khan saying the U.S. and other friendly countries are pressuring Pakistan to recognize Israel. Experts believe the friendly countries are the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Hasaan Khawar, a retired civil servant and currently a public policy analyst based in Islamabad, says the Abraham Accords, a U.S.-brokered agreement between the UAE and Israel to normalize relations, could be at the root of Abu Dhabi refusing to issue visas to Pakistani laborers.

"Security has been cited as the key reason for this ban," he told Nikkei, "which is highly likely given that [the] UAE has recently entered into [the] Abraham Accords."

Pakistan can save Arabs in any situation. We are in every camp and every group now. Saudis better keep good relations with us.
We can be a good balancing power against Israel.
 
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UAE blocks key source of income as it refuses to issue work visas to Pakistanis


https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpsh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4%2Fimages%2F0%2F5%2F1%2F9%2F30999150-4-eng-GB%2FCropped-1607007851RTX6G4Q0.JPG

ADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writer

KARACHI -- Pakistan's overseas laborers are paying the price for one of their government's foreign policy decisions now that the United Arab Emirates has banned them from receiving work visas. Islamabad lost favor with Gulf states after it tried to align itself with a Turkey-Iran-Malaysia bloc challenging Saudi Arabia's leadership of the Muslim world.
The UAE last month temporarily banned the citizens of 13 Muslim majority countries, including Pakistan, from receiving work and visit visas. At the time, it was speculated that the ban was a measure to help prevent the coronavirus's spread.
COVID-19 data from World Health Organization now throws this into question.

Per WHO, Pakistan had 1,813 COVID-19 cases per 1 million people at the end of November. In India, the number was 6,883. Still, Pakistanis, not Indians, were barred from receiving UAE visas. Local reports have since put the ban down to unspecified security concerns.
About 1.3 million laborers from Pakistan have found jobs in the UAE during the past five years. In October, a month before the visa ban, Pakistan received of $2.28 billion in remittances from its overseas workers, $504 million of which came from the UAE, the second-largest source, after Saudi Arabia.
The visa refusals will keep precious foreign remittances from flowing into Pakistan's struggling economy. But the ban packs something of a double blow: To the dismay of Islamabad, the UAE jobs Pakistanis used to fill are now going to the citizens of archrival India.

https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpsh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4%2Fimages%2F_aliases%2Farticleimage%2F7%2F2%2F5%2F0%2F31000527-1-eng-GB%2Fsource-of-pakistani-workers-remittance.png

According to a local media report, a recruitment agency in Rawalpindi, Pakistan's fourth-largest city, in Punjab Province, has experienced a flight of 3,000 UAE openings to India.
James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore, says the UAE has recently liberalized its visa regime to attract highly skilled expatriates. Therefore, political factors cannot be ruled out in Abu Dhabi's decision to ban Pakistanis from receiving visas. "If UAE is preferring Indian labor over Pakistani," he told Nikkei, "then it's due to the importance of India for UAE."

Experts link the UAE's blacklisting to disruptive foreign policy decisions made by Islamabad.
Malik Siraj Akbar, a South Asia-based analyst in Washington, believes that despite a weak and dependent economy, Pakistan maintains an assertive foreign policy which often ends up irking more economically powerful countries. "If a foreign policy stance hurts a country's economy and ends up annoying one or two countries," Akbar told Nikkei, "then it is simply flawed and needs to be reviewed."

Experts link the UAE's decision to Pakistan's alignment with Turkey, Iran and Malaysia. Last December, these countries held the Kuala Lumpur Summit to challenge the Saudi-dominated Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC. Pakistan backed out of the summit at the last moment when Saudi Arabia reportedly threatened it with economic sanctions.
https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpsh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4%2Fimages%2F_aliases%2Farticleimage%2F7%2F0%2F7%2F0%2F31000707-6-eng-GB%2FCropped-1607012080GettyImages-1198354620.jpg

But eight months later, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi criticized the OIC for not taking a firm stance against India on the Kashmir issue. Consequently, Saudi Arabia demanded Pakistan repay $3 billion that the kingdom had lent it earlier in 2019 for balance of payments support. Experts see the UAE's visa decision as a continuation of the Gulf state's diplomatic hostility toward Pakistan.

The S. Rajaratnam School's Dorsey says Islamabad's alignment with Turkey is linked to the growing popularity of Turkey in Pakistan. "Turkey is more vocal on Kashmir, as opposed to Gulf states, and it's natural that Pakistan will align itself with Turkey rather than UAE or Saudi Arabia," he said.

Another foreign partner is also bolstering Pakistan's mettle.
"Pakistan has gained a lot of confidence in the realm of foreign policy since the announcement of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," said Akbar, referring to a key part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road megaproject. He added that with nearly unlimited and unconditional support from Beijing, Islamabad now has the backbone to take a stronger stance toward the Middle East.

Some experts also see Israel playing a role in the UAE's decision to ban work visas to Pakistanis. Last week, local media quoted Prime Minister Imran Khan saying the U.S. and other friendly countries are pressuring Pakistan to recognize Israel. Experts believe the friendly countries are the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Hasaan Khawar, a retired civil servant and currently a public policy analyst based in Islamabad, says the Abraham Accords, a U.S.-brokered agreement between the UAE and Israel to normalize relations, could be at the root of Abu Dhabi refusing to issue visas to Pakistani laborers.

"Security has been cited as the key reason for this ban," he told Nikkei, "which is highly likely given that [the] UAE has recently entered into [the] Abraham Accords."

Say no to blackmail... and why are we allowing Emaratis to come and hunt in Pakistan ? 🤔
 
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Knowing Pakistan and Pakistanis I honestly believe that they won't die of hunger, Pakistanis are extremely resilient nation. Its good that shitty countries like UAE block Pakistani visa so that Pakistanis can move to Europe or USA.

They ll have more influence there and will also get nationality and good education. Arab countries are doomed with renewable energy frontier opening, oil will loose its worth.
 
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Do you really believe that they picked up the virus in transit?

Anyway, I stated I didn't want to list down all the reasons here.
I realise there are other reasons.

But I think the Covid risk is being unnecessarily overstated. Regarding sports men, countless cases have arisen in recent weeks after a sportsperson has travelled. Hamilton tested positive after traveling. Several footballers tested positive after traveling for European matches. Such sporadic positivity doesn't correlate with any specific testing shortcomings per se.

However, a fair question to ask would be about subsequent isolation protocols. Clearly a lack of discipline in the tour group has led to transmission between players.
 
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Price??!!!

Better to reign in the Hell than to serve in the Heaven...

As for the KSA/GCC etc., it's the other name of the Hell, and Pak was trying to make them happy....
Knowing Pakistan and Pakistanis I honestly believe that they won't die of hunger, Pakistanis are extremely resilient nation. Its good that shitty countries like UAE block Pakistani visa so that Pakistanis can move to Europe or USA.

They ll have more influence there and will also get nationality and good education. Arab countries are doomed with renewable energy frontier opening, oil will loose its worth.
Now is the time to make Gwadar as the new Dubai+Singapore+Hong-Kong....
 
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