The Voice News : Since January 2024, Saudi Arabia has deported more than 5,000 Pakistani nationals on charges of begging. Over the past 16 months, an additional 369 Pakistanis have been deported on similar charges by five other countries — Iraq, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
This information was disclosed by Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, during a recent session of the National Assembly, the lower house of Pakistan’s Parliament. The Interior Ministry has compiled a list of these deported individuals, which was obtained by the national daily, Dawn.
In response, Minister Naqvi has announced strict legal action against those deported, citing damage to Pakistan’s international reputation. In a statement issued on Sunday, he said the passports of these individuals would be canceled, and criminal cases would be filed against them.
The statement further noted that individuals whose passports are canceled will not be allowed to apply for a new passport for at least five years.
Notably, the involvement of Pakistani nationals in begging abroad has long been an embarrassing issue for the country. Many impoverished individuals sell their possessions to pay fraudulent agents for travel abroad, only to be stranded and forced to beg for survival. Some also travel to Saudi Arabia under the pretense of performing Hajj or Umrah and then attempt to settle there, taking up begging as a profession.
Although the Pakistani government has implemented several measures to curb this growing trend, these efforts have yet to produce the desired results.
