Lure of the Gulf

The Middle East has provided a steady source of income to migrant workers since the 1970s' oil boom. The boom's subsequent demand for skilled laborers benefited Pakistan most of all. The country liberalized its immigration policy in 1971, when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, aiming to deliver on his promise of economic advancement, began his policy of exporting laborers. Pakistan's overseas labor remittances increased from $136 million in 1973 to $2.9 billion in 1983.