Govt keen to facilitate overseas Pakistanis in Gulf countries via domestic paymentscheme: Rana Mashhood

The federal government is keen to facilitate overseas Pakistanis and Pakistani youth in
Gulf countries, mainly by providing a technological solution that enables them to send
remittances to their families with ease through a domestic payment scheme.
This was stated by Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, Chairman Prime Minister Youth Programme
(PMYP), in a meeting held with stakeholders recently in Karachi, including Ibrahim Amin,
Chairman of PAFLA, and Najeeb Agrawalla, CEO of 1LINK..
The federal government is working extensively to serve Pakistanis in the country and overseas
by addressing their core issues through all innovative, technological, and affordable means. In
this regard, the government is keen to explore strategic collaboration on empowering overseas
Pakistani youth through digital remittance services and expanding PayPak’s reach under the
Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, he said.
A significant number of overseas Pakistanis comprise youth and they are assets of the country
because of their commendable role in contributing to the economy of the country, hence, the PM
Digital Youth Hub is exploring various options to honor their services for the nation with
dedicated facilities and offerings, Chairman PMYP said.
Commenting on the occasion, CEO – 1LINK Najeeb Agrawalla said, ” We aim to take initiatives
to facilitate secure and structured remittance flows from non-resident Pakistani workers,
especially those based in Saudi Arabia, UAE and other Gulf countries, while also promoting the
use of PayPak for Hajj, Umrah, and other cross-border transactions including 1BILL service for
non-resident Pakistanis.”
As a major payment service provider, 1LINK proposed extending its technological expertise and
platform capabilities to support the development and implementation of both initiatives, he said.
PAFLA Chairman Ibrahim Amin highlighted that over 4 million Pakistanis reside in Gulf countries
and strive to contribute honestly to the national economy through their hard-earned income.
Unfortunately, many of them lack access to reliable and user-friendly technological payment
solutions.
PAFLA, in collaboration with Pakistani diplomatic missions, Pakistan’s banks, and different
agencies, will do its best efforts to approach freelancers, blue- and white-collar Pakistani
workers through outreach and engagement efforts across Gulf countries, he added.
Pakistan received over $38.3 billion in remittances from different countries in the financial year
2024-25. Overseas Pakistanis residing in different Gulf countries contribute a major share to the
remittance values.

About 1LINK Pvt Ltd: 1LINK (Pvt) Limited, owned by a consortium of 11 banks, is the country’s
1st PSO/PSP and largest switch and payment system, providing a host of valuable online
banking services like ATM switching, 1BILL billing platform, Inter Bank Funds Transfer, Fraud
Risk Management, Switch Dispute Resolution, International Payment Schemes, PayPak –
Domestic Payment Scheme, Sohni Dharti Remittance Program, etc. 1LINK is continuously
evolving and adding new products and services to benefit the financial industry. For more
information, please visit: https://1link.net.pk/
About PayPak: PayPak is the product of Pakistan’s first and only domestic payment scheme
1LINK, making it the 28th country with its own Domestic Payment Scheme. PayPak drives
financial inclusion and digitization nationwide aiming to promote the adoption of digital payments
across the country.