Pakistanis living abroad sent $2.5 billion home in March

By MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s central bank says that Pakistanis living abroad sent $2.5 billion home in March, responding to the cash-strapped government’s appeal for more hard currency remittances. The sum represents a 27.4%  increase compared to February and is the highest in seven past months. That’s according to a tweet by the State Bank of Pakistan on Monday. The announcement offered some hope for improving the ailing economy. The remittances came mainly from Pakistanis living in the United States, Britain and the Middle East. Pakistan is grappling with one of its worst economic crises, exacerbated by last summer’s devastating floods that killed 1,739 people, destroyed 2 million homes and caused $30 billion in damages.