By Moaaz Manzoor

The Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) has taken several initiatives to support overseas Pakistanis and their families. These measures include major land recoveries, progress in housing projects, new welfare incentives, institutional partnerships and education-sector support, according to documents available with Wealth Pakistan.

Among the most significant developments, OPF reported large-scale recovery of encroached land and outstanding dues linked to its housing schemes. It said that 386 kanals of land in the OPF Housing Scheme, Zone-V, Islamabad, worth Rs2.6 billion, had been recovered from the land grabbers.

It also reported the recovery of 33 kanals of land in the OPF housing scheme at Budhni Road, Peshawar, worth Rs600 million; 11.34 kanals at OPF Town, Raiwind Road, Lahore, worth Rs170.1 million, and three kanals and seven marlas at OPF Housing Scheme, Phase-I, Raiwind Road, Lahore, worth Rs200 million. In addition, OPF said it recovered Rs1.2 billion in outstanding receivables from the allottees of the housing scheme.

The foundation also shared progress in its housing projects. Possession of 39 of the 50 built-up country homes in the OPF Housing Scheme, Zone-V, Islamabad, was handed over to allottees on February 12, 2025, while construction of the remaining 11 units is nearing completion. Construction of 120 apartment buildings for overseas Pakistanis at the same scheme is also underway and has achieved around 70 per cent progress.

The documents show that OPF has taken further institutional steps to address property disputes and complaints involving overseas Pakistanis. These include memorandums of understanding signed with the Anti-Corruption Establishment, Punjab, and the Crime Control Department, Punjab, on May 17, 2025, to curb land grabbing, property fraud, and misuse of authority. A separate agreement with the Pakistan Employees Association, Hungary, signed in August 2025, aims to support legal employment, residence and visa facilitation for Pakistani workers.

OPF also said it is pursuing approval from the Rawalpindi Development Authority to launch a new housing scheme exclusively for overseas Pakistanis at Rawat, Rawalpindi.

On the welfare side, OPF said it has introduced a new incentive package that includes next-generation membership cards, accident insurance cover of Rs2 million for overseas Pakistanis, their spouses and children, priority access to OPF housing schemes, and special discounts on scholarships, scooters and laptops, along with up to 50 per cent fee discounts in OPF schools and colleges.

In the education sector, OPF said its 27 institutions currently have 21,129 students enrolled, including 4,983 children of overseas Pakistanis. It added that tuition fee concessions worth Rs196.96 million were granted in FY2024-25, while financial losses of OPF educational institutions declined from Rs717 million in 2022-23 to Rs291 million in 2024-25. Scholarships worth Rs5.43 million were also awarded during FY2024-25 to 121 children and spouses of overseas Pakistanis.

Credit: INP-WealthPk