Thousands of Pakistanis deported for begging from multiple countries, NA committee told

• Riyadh deports 24,000, Pakistanis this year: FIA. 
• UAE sent back 6,000, Azerbaijan deported 2,500 Pakistani citizens.
• Pakistan’s passport ranking improved from 118 to 92: FIA.

Thousands of Pakistanis have been deported from various countries for begging, while tens of thousands were offloaded at airports this year over suspected illegal travel attempts, a National Assembly committee was informed on Wednesday.

The briefing was given during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Rights, chaired by Agha Rafiullah, where FIA Director General Riffat Mukhtar Raja outlined enforcement measures and recent trends.

The FIA chief told the committee that 51,000 Pakistanis were offloaded this year alone. Apart from this, he said, Saudi Arabia deported the highest number of Pakistanis, with 24,000 individuals sent back for begging. The UAE deported 6,000 Pakistanis on similar grounds, while Azerbaijan expelled around 2,500 beggars.

He said several individuals attempting to travel to Europe under the pretext of performing Umrah were stopped after authorities found supporting documents indicating plans to enter European countries. “Such passengers were offloaded with evidence,” the FIA DG said.

The committee was also informed that 24,000 Pakistanis travelled to Cambodia this year, of whom 12,000 have yet to return, while 4,000 went to Myanmar on tourist visas and around 2,500 did not come back.

The FIA chief said stricter controls had improved Pakistan’s passport ranking from 118 to 92, noting that Pakistan was previously among the top five countries for illegal migration but had now exited that list due to revised policies.

He added that illegal migration to Europe had declined, with 8,000 Pakistanis travelling illegally last year compared to 4,000 this year. The FIA DG also informed the committee that Dubai and Germany had made official passports visa-free, while an e-immigration application would be launched by mid-January.