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ISLAMABAD:
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis has expressed concern over persistent consular and administrative shortcomings in Pakistani missions across Europe, calling for urgent improvement in welfare, verification systems and passport-related services.
Meeting under the chairmanship of Syed Rafiullah, the committee reviewed the country-wise performance reports of the Social Welfare Attachés (CWA) working under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During deliberations, members noted recurring operational problems at Pakistani missions in Italy, Spain and Greece, including cases of lost passports, verification delays and limited outreach to prison social services.
In Italy, officials reported a large Pakistani community and progress following a 2025 bilateral memorandum of understanding, which included the allocation of 3,500 jobs, including 1,500 non-seasonal ones.
However, the committee was told that challenges remain regarding backlogged work visas, repeated complaints of lost passports and verification backlogs in some provinces, particularly where online national status verification is not fully integrated.
The Spanish mission briefed the committee on efforts to regularize the documents of Pakistani residents after a prolonged vacancy in the post of social attaché. Authorities said they planned to regularize around 20,000 applicants out of nearly 140,000 Pakistanis residing in Spain.
Committee members highlighted procedural hurdles, including delays in certifying apostilles, difficulties in obtaining verification from the National Police Bureau (NPB), and recurring loss of passports.
