ISLAMABAD: OPF has recovered Rs 3.7 billion from overseas employers and distributed among the legal heirs of deceased overseas Pakistanis so far, whose bread earners had expired abroad during work, said Managing Director OPF Habib Ur Rehman Gillani in an interview.
Talking to APP here on Tuesday, he said that OPF has disbursed the bank drafts and cheques amounting to Rs 290.5 million during the year 2017 according to the procedure set out by the host countries.
He said that OPF has contributed lot of efforts to recover this amount through ensuring constant follow up of the cases with the help of Pakistani Missions abroad.
Managing Director further explained that the recovery of dues in form of blood money and insurance claims is more tedious job as compared to realization of out-standing amount of salary and end service benefits from employers under the labour laws of host countries.
He said that in case of murder of an overseas Pakistanis or accidental death (Including traffic accidents), the determination of compensation depends upon the police report which fixes quantum of responsibility on accused.
Such claims depend upon the decisions of the Qazi courts and as such take sufficient time. Gillani said that fixation of the court cases in Saudi Arabia is time consuming job for which we push the matter through Pakistani Mission and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia.
He said OPF documents each and every case like court case with the help of legal heirs and process free of cost to materialize the claim of deceased from abroad. He said more than 4200 cases are under process for realization of claims.
While talking about the out-standing salaries and end service benefits of repatriated overseas Pakistanis from Saudi Arabia, he said that the M/S Oger and Saad Company of Saudi Arabia were declared defaulted and their matter is subjudice and pending before the court for hearing.
This office has been pursuing the matter vigorously and hopefully cases will be finalized soon according to the available information, received from Pakistan. Mission he added.
He said that OPF has been contributing in number of areas to look after the interest of Pakistani expatriates like resolving their complaints, extending financial assistance, scholarships, discount in tuition fees in OPF schools and colleges, free ambulance service for transportation of dead bodies and provision of housing facilities.
