It's more then that. Not only is it the immediate family of the ex-pat but various reports have show that one ex-pat remittances can percolate down to over 20 other people in Pakistan in a indirect economic drip down effect. Taxis, food, house built, medical, consumer goods, clothing, tailor etc can all be fed by money sent by a ex-pat. Even marriages are often financed by ex-pat money which feeds into marriage industry. Point being reittances have a huge impact on Pakistan. Indeed the singke biggest portion of the economy is supported by ex-pat remittances. No other industry comes close. Fact is if remittances stopped Pakistan would plunge into economic suicide.
If you look at so called booming India. Most of it is down to Indian ex-pats in GCC. States that export lot of labour to GCC like Kerala are booming and have some of the highest economic indicators in India. The massive Sikh diaspora keeps Indian Punjab prosperous. You can trip on Sikhs in west and Keralites in UAE. But you won't see any Odishans ot rarely Biharis. But then look at the condition of Bihar or Odisha.
