Rawalpindi, April 19, 2026: The Protectorate of Emigrants (PE) Rawalpindi has emerged as a major contributor to Pakistan’s overseas workforce, accounting for 26.45 percent of the total 763,526 citizens who went abroad for employment in 2025.
Deputy Director PE Rawalpindi, Abdul Shakoor Soomro, while speaking to media, said the region’s substantial share highlights its central role in supplying manpower to the global job market. He noted that although 2025 witnessed an overall 5 percent increase in national emigration, Rawalpindi’s jurisdiction continued to serve as a key hub for workers from northern regions, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Providing an update for 2026, Soomro said that by mid-April, 221,525 workers had been registered nationwide. Of these, the Rawalpindi office alone processed around 52,000 registrations, maintaining its leading position.
He added that under the supervision of Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, and Director General of the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) Javed Zia, the office has streamlined its processes to facilitate emigrants. “Protector clearance is now issued within two to three hours, with data immediately integrated with embassies and the Federal Investigation Agency,” he said.
Sharing district-wise data for 2025, Soomro revealed that 25,743 emigrants hailed from Rawalpindi, 13,769 from Attock, 8,712 from Chakwal, 12,037 from Mandi Bahauddin, and 8,092 from Islamabad, while 27,422 workers belonged to AJK and 1,626 to Gilgit-Baltistan.
In terms of professional categories, the labor sector dominated with 465,138 workers, followed by 163,718 drivers. Technicians accounted for 12,703, alongside other skilled professionals including engineers and doctors.
The Deputy Director also stressed the importance of mandatory pre-departure briefings to educate emigrants about the laws and cultural norms of host countries. He urged workers to use legal banking channels for remittances and advised citizens to process their cases only through registered Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs).
