Uncertainty, which engulfed Karachi with the start of targeted operation, has resulted in sharp rise in flight of capital along with inhabitants of the city.
Trend of establishing businesses abroad first and then shifting with families has been increased manifold after Prime Minister Nawaz Shariff ordered free, fair and across the board targeted operation against the criminals with consensus of all political parties of the mega city.
Not only this, the Pakistani businessmen, who are working in other parts of the world, have also started shifting their families abroad fearing that something is going to be happened in Karachi. The beneficiaries of this mobility are South Asian countries which are relatively feasible as compared to the UK, the US and the UAE.
A large number of people have been witnessed while visiting the travel agents offices for information and visas. The consulates of foreign countries are also receiving applications in bulk from candidates who wish to study or work abroad.
“We are receiving school leaving certificates and degrees in bulk for attestation during the last few days,” an official of Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) Karachi-Circle said. “The IBCC is authority which attests the educational certificates and degrees of intermediate-level students who wish to carry on their education abroad,” he added.
“The trend of shifting abroad for study started at the end of 2010 and it is increasing with each passing years,” the IBCC official said, adding, “We have received a number of applications during the past few days as the residents have assumed themselves that something is going to be happen in Karachi.”
“There are two categories of students who have applied for attestation of documents: one who are forced by their parents to leave the country due to prevailing law and order and the second who are shifting abroad along with their families,” he observed.
“During the last few months, a number of people approached travel agencies for visas and most of them applied for investment visa,” Travel Agents Association of Pakistan (TAAP) Vice Chairman Anwar Rasheed said.
“Due to the prevailing law and order situation, the demand of visa for the UK, the USA, Canada and Middle East countries has increased,” Rasheed said, adding, “It is my humble request to the people who are shifting their businesses and families abroad to adopt positive approach and wait for the time when things will get better here in Pakistan”
“We can not stop flight of capital amid prevailing law and order situation in the city,” Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Zubair Ahmed Malik said. “Already, the industrialists are shifting their businesses due to energy crises but uncertainty in Karachi, which prevailed with the start of targeted operation, has forced people to shift their investment to foreign countries,” the FPCCI president added.
“I think there is no need of panic as the government has started targeted operation with consensus of all political parties. When the operation started, the political parties started making hue and cry,” Malik said, adding, “There is a dire need that the government ensures transparency in ongoing operation and bring the criminals to book by overlooking their political affiliation.”