56000 beggars were deported from Saudi Arabia, UAE, and other countries
Saudi Arabia deported 24000, UAE 6000, Azerbaijan 2500 beggars this year
8.5 million Pakistanis travelled abroad with legal documents
24,000 Pakistanis went to Cambodia, and 12000 yet not returned
4,000 people have gone to Myanmar, of whom 2,500 have not returned
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has revealed before a parliamentary panel that it off-loaded 66,154 passengers this year to curb organised gangs of beggars and illegal immigrants from travelling abroad.
FIA director general Riffat Mukhtar told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, chaired by Syed Rafiullah on Wednesday.
The FIA director general clarified that 51,000 of these individuals were stopped due to questionable veracity of their travel documents falling into three main categories: work visas, tourist visas, and Umrah visas.
He noted that the surge in offloading is a countermeasure against fraudulent migration rings, revealing that 56,000 individuals involved in organized begging were recently deported from Saudi Arabia, UAE and other countries.
He said that Saudi Arabia deported 24000 Pakistanis on charges of begging this year alone, followed by UAE 6000 and Azerbaijan 2500. Many others have also tried to enter Europe from Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas, but have also been caught and deported.
The FIA chief also said that 24,000 Pakistanis have gone to Cambodia on tourist visas this year, but 12,000 of them have not returned yet. Similarly, 4,000 people have gone to Myanmar on tourist visas, of whom 2,500 have not returned home. These incidents are believed to be linked to illegal immigration.
The number of Pakistanis illegally entering Europe has also halved – from 8,000 last year to 4,000 this year. However, the movement of Pakistanis to Bangladesh has increased in recent times due to the relaxed immigration policies adopted by the interim government in Bangladesh.
Raja noted that 8.5 million Pakistanis travelled abroad legally this year, while 226 cases were registered for immigration-related offences.
Pakistanis arrested abroad
In Saudi Arabia alone, more than 4,000 Pakistani beggars have been detained in Mecca and Madina in recent years, particularly during the Umrah and Hajj seasons. Several Pakistani nationals have also been arrested in the kingdom for drug-related offences.
Expert opinion
Experts believe that this problem is increasing due to extreme poverty, unemployment and an organized begging mafia in Pakistan. Many are abusing religious visas or tourist visas to go abroad and earn a living by begging. This is leading to increasing suspicion of Pakistanis in Gulf countries and tightening visa policies. Analysts say the main solution lies in poverty alleviation and job creation. Otherwise, this problem will further complicate Pakistan’s international relations.
Why Dubai restricted visas for Pakistanis?
Earlier, a Dawn report noted that the UAE’s suspension of most visa categories—including tourist, visit and employment visas—was driven by concerns over an uptick in criminal activity involving Pakistani nationals.
An estimated 800,000 Pakistanis apply each year for visas to Gulf and West Asian countries, many seeking employment or using the region as a transit route to Western destinations. Regional security agencies, however, have raised repeated alarms over illegal activities linked to a section of travellers.
In 2018, Dubai’s former head of general security Dhahi Khalfan publicly linked Pakistanis to drug trafficking following a major enforcement raid and urged employers not to hire them, calling it a “national duty.”
Government action
The Pakistani government is taking strict steps to deal with this problem. The FIA is conducting strict screening of passengers at airports and filing cases against illegal immigrants.
This measure has improved the country’s passport ranking from 118th to 92nd, and reduced illegal migration. Significant numbers of Pakistanis were also deported from Saudi Arabia and the UAE for begging.