ISLAMABAD: The government informed the Senate on Thursday that foreign remittances had declined by 2.3 per cent during the first nine months of the current financial year.

Responding to a calling attention notice by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement`s retired Col Tahir Hussain Mashhadi about the drop in foreign remittances due to return of thousands of labourers from Gulf countries, including 40,000 from Saudi Arabia, Law Minister Zahid Hamid said the overall remittances had slipped from $14.4 billion to $14.1bn.

He said that remittances f rom Saudi Arabia had declined by 6.2pc to $4.1bn from $4.3bn. He said the number of labourers going abroad for jobsISLAMABAD: The government informed the Senate on Thursday that foreign remittances had declined by 2.3 per cent during the first nine months of the current financial year.

Responding to a calling attention notice by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement`s retired Col Tahir Hussain Mashhadi about the drop in foreign remittances due to return of thousands of labourers from Gulf countries, including 40,000 from Saudi Arabia, Law Minister Zahid Hamid said the overall remittances had slipped from $14.4 billion to $14.1bn.

He said that remittances f rom Saudi Arabia had declined by 6.2pc to $4.1bn from $4.3bn. He said the number of labourers going abroad for jobshad also witnessed an 11pc drop in the first nine months of the current financialyear.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Af tab Ahmad said the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan was the reason behind one of the lowest rankings of Pakistani passportin the globalindex.

The issue of Pakistani passport ranking had been raised by Pakistan Peoples Party senators Farhatullah Babar, Farooq H. Naek, Saleem Mandviwalla and Karim Ahmad Khawaja.

The minister of state for parliamentary affairs told the house that there were only five countries in the world where Pakistanis could travel without getting a visa. The situation was equally bad for diplomatic (red) and of ficial (blue) passports.

The house was informed that only39 countries allowed visa-free entry to red passport holders from Pakistan while Pakistanis having blue passports could travel to 27 countries without a visa. He, however, did not share the list of countries that offered Pakistani nationals this f acility.

`We have been victims of terrorism since the Afghan war. Once law and order improves, the value of our passport will also improve,` the minister remarked.

The government was grilled for ignoring the rights of the provinces and concentration of powers in the hands of the federadon against the spirit of the 18th Amendment.

Sherry Rehman of the PPP said the 18th Amendment had changed the social contract, but regretted that its fruits were yet to properly reach the provinces.