Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has said that Pakistan needs to sustain its strong showing in the remittances department in order to achieve ‘true economic independence.’

The minister in a tweet post on Friday said that strong remittance flows are significantly helping with Pakistan’s external account.

He said, “The biggest vulnerability of Pakistan's economy, is its unsustainable high external debt, which is being improved as a result of this excellent performance.”

“Need to sustain this for achieving true economic independence,” he added.

The statement comes after remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis remain above $2 billion mark for the sixth consecutive month.

As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), workers’ remittances maintained their strong momentum in November, remaining above $2 billion for a record sixth consecutive month. They rose to $2.34 billion, showing an increase of 2.4 percent over the previous month, while compared to same period last year increased by 28pc.

In aggregate, remittances rose to an unprecedented $11.8 billion during Jul-Nov FY21, 26.9pc higher than the same period last year.

SBP was of the view that this significant growth reflects continued government and SBP efforts to formalize remittances under Pakistan Remittances Initiative (PRI), growing use of digital channels amid limited international travel, orderly exchange market conditions and improved global economic activity.