Rawalpindi Leads Pakistan Overseas Employment Registrations 2026 Report

RAWALPINDI: (Web Desk) – Rawalpindi has emerged as a major contributor to Pakistan’s overseas workforce, with the Protectorate of Emigrants (PE) Rawalpindi playing a leading role in manpower exports. The office accounted for 26.45% of the 763,526 Pakistanis who went abroad for employment in 2025.

According to Deputy Director PE Rawalpindi, Abdul Shakoor Soomro, the region’s strong performance highlights its importance as a key recruitment hub for workers from Northern Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan. He noted that overall overseas employment increased by 5% in 2025, reflecting growing demand for Pakistani workers in international markets.

For the current year, officials reported that 221,525 workers have already been registered nationwide by mid-April 2026, with Rawalpindi maintaining its leading position by processing around 52,000 registrations.

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Soomro said the system has been streamlined under the supervision of federal authorities, allowing protector clearance to be issued within two to three hours. He added that data is now directly linked with embassies and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to ensure transparency and efficiency.

Regional figures for 2025 show that 25,743 workers were registered from Rawalpindi, 13,769 from Attock, 8,712 from Chakwal, 12,037 from Mandi Bahauddin, 8,092 from Islamabad, 27,422 from AJK, and 1,626 from Gilgit-Baltistan.

In terms of job categories, the majority of workers belonged to the labor sector, followed by drivers, technicians, and other skilled professionals including engineers and doctors.

Officials also stressed the importance of pre-departure briefing sessions to educate emigrants about host country laws and culture. They urged workers to use legal banking channels for remittances and to process applications only through registered Overseas Employment Promoters to avoid fraud.