A family in the Saudi province of Qasim threw a bash to say goodbye to a Pakistani worker who spent his entire life with them and was returning to Pakistan on his retirement.

The Saudi ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Saeed Ahmed Al-Maliki, tweeted a video clip from the feast with a caption in the Urdu language.

“A Saudi family in Qasim region is bidding farewell to their Pakistani mukful Maqbool after 45 years of service in a special and meaningful ceremony that reflects the appreciation and loyalty shown by this distinguished family and our beautiful society. Not surprising,” the ambassador said.

Mukful is the Arabic for ‘sponsored’.

People from the Indian subcontinent need Saudi citizens to sponsor them to work and live in Saudi Arabia. The person sponsoring them is called ‘kafeel’. While in many cases the ‘sponsored’ is directly employed by the kafeel, sometimes he works with another employer and pays a portion of his income to the kafeel.

Maqbool apparently worked for the family that sponsored him, spending most of his life with them.

After 45 years he is an old man.

The video clip tweeted by Ambassador Al-Maliki shows a wedding ceremony-like feast. Maqbool was also presented with a shield in recognition of his services.