Reaching out to Karachi Goans vis-a-vis CAA:NRI officer

The Goa government is gearing up to reach out to thousands of Goans, mostly Christians, residing in Karachi and are Pakistani nationals in order to explain to them the nuances of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, state Non-Resident India Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar said on Monday.

The office of the state NRI Commissioner oversees affairs related to a large expat population of Goans residing mostly in Europe, Africa, the UAE and Pakistan and serves as an office for liaisoning between ex-pat communities and the state government.

“We are trying to explain to them, through our website and others like emails. We are trying to get in touch with them,” the NRI Commissioner said, when asked what steps the state government was taking in order to assuage the feelings of the Goan community in Karachi, in view of the violence which has erupted in several parts of India, after the Citizenship Amendment Act came into force earlier this month.

Large number of Goans migrated to British-held Pakistan, when Goa was still under colonial rule to seek employment mostly in railways, shipping and hospitality sectors.

According to unofficial estimates, around 15,000 Goans reside in Karachi and the total population of Goan-origin people in Pakistan is estimated at around 25,000.