AFP, Mirpur :
The tiled palaces beside Pakistan’s Mangla reservoir and dozens of exchange offices testify to the prosperity enjoyed by Kashmir’s Mirpur thanks to vast sums of cash sent back by tens of thousands of emigrants living in Britain.
With few jobs and little industry, the residents of Pakistan’s “Little England” overwhelmingly rely on family members based in the country for their economic livelihood. But decades after the first wave of migration, the fraying of filial ties between the communities along with economic woes following the Brexit vote have raised concerns that the once-plentiful funds may dry up for good.
“Our family used to send us money every month-now it’s only every two-three months,” says Javed Mushtaq, who like many Mirpur residents is counting less and less on support from his relatives in Britain.
“The value of the pound has decreased and that creates problems for us,” says Mushtaq, an official whose brothers and uncles live in northern England, working as taxi drivers and in construction to support more than a dozen people back in Pakistan. “Our life is not as easy as before,” says Javed.
Since Britain’s decision to leave the EU, sterling has tumbled, sending inflation surging and raising the cost of living, while uncertainty over the post-Brexit outlook has fuelled concerns about the country’s economy.
The tiled palaces beside Pakistan’s Mangla reservoir and dozens of exchange offices testify to the prosperity enjoyed by Kashmir’s Mirpur thanks to vast sums of cash sent back by tens of thousands of emigrants living in Britain.
With few jobs and little industry, the residents of Pakistan’s “Little England” overwhelmingly rely on family members based in the country for their economic livelihood. But decades after the first wave of migration, the fraying of filial ties between the communities along with economic woes following the Brexit vote have raised concerns that the once-plentiful funds may dry up for good.
“Our family used to send us money every month-now it’s only every two-three months,” says Javed Mushtaq, who like many Mirpur residents is counting less and less on support from his relatives in Britain.
“The value of the pound has decreased and that creates problems for us,” says Mushtaq, an official whose brothers and uncles live in northern England, working as taxi drivers and in construction to support more than a dozen people back in Pakistan. “Our life is not as easy as before,” says Javed.
Since Britain’s decision to leave the EU, sterling has tumbled, sending inflation surging and raising the cost of living, while uncertainty over the post-Brexit outlook has fuelled concerns about the country’s economy.
