A battle for the diaspora: Pakistan and the expatriates government to break Imran Khan. Politics news

Islamabad, Pakistan – In the cave hall of the Conference Center in a wing in Islamabad, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaybaz Sharif praised the diaspora in the country as “the pride of the nation”, and he praises them for their “unparalleled contribution” in the country they left.

It was not just the speech. Speaking to an audience of more than 1,000 expatriates who met to participate in the Pakistani conference abroad on April 15, Sharif also promised a set of benefits that he said his government would be launched to help them.

These include private courts for Pakistani abroad until their legal disputes are resolved faster than they were in the slow judicial system in the country. The shares are also pledged in educational institutions, the fastest migration procedures in airports and tax benefits. Sharif also said that the government would give 15 prominent Pakistani expatriates every year.

In his speech, Sharif said: “I think that the 10 million Pakistanis who live all over the world have gained their good reputation in their hard work and promoted the name of Pakistan,” Sharif said in his speech.

But many experts believe that the government of government assurance package is more than just an innocent awareness: it is also a political step in a battle to support Pakistani abroad with former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The Khan Pakistan Tyrik-INSAF (PTI) party is widely believed to enjoy wide support among the diaspora in the country, which in turn wins Western capitals, with the formation of how these countries view Islamabad and deep political divisions.

Now, analysts say that the Sharif government is trying to break Khan’s grip on the Pakistanis abroad.

“It seems that the Pakistani summit abroad has two main goals, to counter the influence and popularity enjoyed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan between the diaspora, and to encourage society abroad to invest in Pakistan,” said Mali Ludhi, the former Pakistani ambassador to the United States.

Why does the diaspora matters?

Many PTI supporters who live abroad have influence sites in those countries, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States, with approximately 1.6 million and 700,000 citizens of Pakistan residing there, respectively.

Former Prime Minister Khan, who was expelled from power in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote without confidence, was in prison since August 2023 on various charges.

His party faced a comprehensive campaign and claims that the results of the general elections in February 2024 were severely manipulated, claiming that their mandate was “stolen.” The government and the strong army in the country rejected these allegations, but they found an echo among many in Pakistan – and outside it.

These allegations helped to push pressure efforts, especially in the United States, which prompted Congress to Hold a hearing In the “Future of Democracy” in Pakistan last year.

That session prompted invitations from the two parties to the then President Joe Biden and Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken to check Pakistan Controversial elections.

A few months later in October, more than 60 lawmakers from the Democratic Party urged Biden to pressure Islamabad to secure the release of Khan.

In fact, many believe in PTI that follow -up Trump installationThe American president, who has enjoyed warm relationships with Khan during his first term and helps secure the issuance of the former Prime Minister, thanks to the pressure on the diaspora.

Ansar, Ansar, the chief strategy of the strategic consulting policy company in Washington, has admitted effectively Press the diaspora.

Ansar told Al -Jazeera: “The diaspora was very effective in pressure efforts, and this affected the Foundation to manage its relations with the diaspora. It wants to involve them and stimulate relations instead of playing an opponent’s role,” Ansar told Al -Jazeera. The “Foundation” is an expression of the army in Pakistan.

However, the analyst added that it is also possible for the government to try to prove that the diaspora was not homogeneous with PTI.

“There are many different sectors, and PTI is not the only one to represent the diaspora,” he said. He added that the government is eager to “build a new narration.”

“Interview PTI”

Meanwhile, political analyst in Islamabad Tatrat Hussein believes that the government’s goal to host the agreement is to show that not only wide access between expatriates but also wants to make them stakeholders in its political and economic agenda.

Hussein said: “PTI allegations of a monopoly on Pakistani political feelings abroad are amplified through social media. Efforts such agreements provide resistance to the argument that expatriates are moving in a direction according to the instructions of Imran.”

The last months have shown cracks in the extent of Khan’s packages firmly supporting the diaspora.

Last December, Khan warned the government that his party would launch a civil disobedience movement and asked the diaspora to stop sending money to Pakistan.

But in 2024, Pakistan witnessed the highest annual transfer amount in its history, reaching 34.1 billion dollars, an increase of 32 percent over 2023, when the Pakistanis were sent abroad to a house of nearly 26 billion dollars.

A day before Sharif’s speech at the Diaspora Conference in Islamabad, Jill Ahmed, the ruler of the Central Bank of the country, revealed that the Pakistani diaspora sent more than 4 billion dollars in MarchOn the occasion of the highest transfers in the history of the country.

Hussein said: “If the transfers flow are a way to measure the effectiveness of PTI influence abroad, the image is not useful for the party’s boast.”

“Two years of consistent increases in transfers, despite all the appeals of Imran and completed the higher leadership for not sending money to what he calls a” corrupt and fascist system “tells you about the place where expatriates stand.”

“I will be your CEO”

However, like Lodhi, other analysts also believe that the Pakistani government attracts diaspora because it needs them to invest in the country.

Shorf sparked abroad on Pakistanis for their support for the country’s economy. Sharif said this week that he would “supervise the investments they have made.

He said: “I will be your CEO. The Cabinet and our business community will guarantee the protection and facilitation of your investments.”

However, fears relate to whether the Pakistani diaspora trusts the economic climate in a country where more and more citizens leave.

In the past five years, nearly three million Pakistanis immigrated, according to government data, which raised increasing concerns about the “brain migration” of the country.

However, General Syed Ameme Monir, Army commander He is widely considered the strongest figure in the country, and he rejected these concerns during his speech in the diaspora agreement, describing the direction instead as “brain gain.”

“Those who talk about brain migration should understand that this is not brain migration, but rather earns the brain,” he said on Tuesday.