Smoke billows from Zayed Port after an Iranian attack, following US and Israeli strikes against Iran, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026. Photo taken with a phone. PHOTO: REUTERS
Abdul Malick sat among grieving relatives in his village, receiving condolences from neighbors after his nephew, Muzaffar Ali, was killed in Dubai last week.
Ali, a 27-year-old laborer, is one of two Pakistanis killed in Iranian retaliation against Gulf countries since the start of US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic republic two weeks ago. Debris fell on his vehicle when a projectile was intercepted.
“It’s a great tragedy for a family whose sole breadwinner is gone,” said Malick, accompanied by Ali’s three young children.
“We have nothing to do with this war. It is unfortunate that the poor are being used as fuel for a conflict in which they are not participating,” he said. AFP.
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Ali moved to Dubai from Jamshoro district in Sindh four years ago.
Relatives pray at the grave of Pakistani national Muzaffar Ali, killed in Dubai amid the ongoing Middle East war, after his funeral in Jamshoro, Sindh province, March 12, 2026. PHOTO: AFP
Another Pakistani victim, Murib Zaman, 48, a father of five from Bannu, had worked as a driver in the United Arab Emirates for 25 years.
A third was killed in a drone attack while fishing in Iranian waters, officials said.
Pakistan, which has condemned Tehran’s retaliation, shares a border with Iran to the southwest and is increasingly feeling the direct effects of the war in the Middle East.
Rising oil prices have forced fuel prices to skyrocket at the pump, while the attacks saw around 4,000 people, including students, return from Iran.
Gulf remittances are important for South Asian countries, and in Pakistan they represent around 3-5% of GDP, according to a note by analysts at Capital Economics.
More than 5.5 million Pakistanis, many of them unskilled laborers, work in the region, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with the money they send home vital to support their families.
Mourners gather to offer condolences after the death of Pakistani national Muzaffar Ali following his funeral. PHOTO: AFP
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Remittances help households meet daily expenses, but also finance education, healthcare and small businesses, thereby boosting domestic consumption and economic activity.
Earlier this week, the State Bank of Pakistan said the country received $3.3 billion in foreign remittances in February 2026, an increase of 5.2% year-on-year.
Capital Economics has warned that a protracted conflict could hit Gulf economies, with knock-on effects on remittances to South Asia.
For now, most Pakistani workers appear to remain in the Gulf. The Foreign Office said the figures coming back were “too few to speak of a major exodus”.
Abdul Malick, transporter and uncle of Pakistani national Muzaffar Ali, displays a photo of Ali on his mobile phone. PHOTO: AFP
Zaman’s cousin Farmanullah, who uses only one name, said AFP that his dream was for Bannu to develop like Dubai and for peace to return to his country.
“Unfortunately, this wish was not granted,” he added.
In Sindh, Malick said the family was “disappointed” that they had so far received no financial support from the UAE government or the Pakistani government.
“It is ironic that when he left Pakistan, we were happy that he was going to one of the safest countries in the world, only to receive his dead body,” he said. AFP.
“We demand that this war ends so that innocent workers like Ali are not used as fuel,” he added.
“We also demand that the UAE government provide the necessary protection and security for civilian workers.”
