Muscat – A Pakistani family residing in the sultanate has gifted one of the oldest labour cards issued to the National Museum of Oman.

Shaandar Bukhari gifted the bilingual card belonging to his father Sakhawat Bukhari kept safely with other important family documents for over 40 years.

“Made of thick paper and carefully preserved, it has an emotional connect as it holds the memories of our departure from Pakistan and starting a new life in the sultanate,” Shaandar said.

He noted that over the years, the expatriate community has played a vital role in supporting the economy, besides the early years of Renaissance, developing the education, healthcare and defence services hand-in-hand with Omanis based on the vision of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

“This gift is a way of saying thank you to the sultanate for providing a good life to expatriates. This card will help educate visitors to the museum on how the Department of Labour and the card evolved over the years.”

The Bukhari family is well known among the Pakistani diaspora residing in the sultanate due to its social work. Now retired and in his 70’s, Sakhawat also served as secretary-general of Pakistan Social Club for four terms. He first arrived in Oman in 1976 recruited as a personal tutor of English language for the children of a sheikh in Muscat.

Shaandar informed that labour cards were valid for one year earlier. “The visa fees was RO1 and it was a single entry visa. The card donated to the museum is of 1979.”

He thanked the team at National Museum for a smooth handover process. During his visit, he met Jamal bin Hassan al Moosawi, secretary-general of the museum, and congratulated him for receiving the Order of the Star of Italy from the Italian government recently.