ISLAMABAD: This year, more than 50,000 Pakistanis were deported from various countries due to begging, while many others were stopped at airports for suspected illegal travel attempts, a National Assembly committee was informed. The briefing, delivered during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Rights, revealed troubling trends in illegal migration and travel.
FIA Director General Riffat Mukhtar Raja reported that Saudi Arabia had sent back the highest number of Pakistanis, with 24,000 individuals deported for begging. The UAE followed with 6,000 deportations, while Azerbaijan expelled around 2,500 Pakistanis under similar circumstances. Additionally, the FIA chief shared that several individuals attempting to travel to Europe under the guise of performing Umrah were stopped after authorities found evidence linking their trips to illegal migration plans. These passengers were offloaded at airports.
The committee was also briefed about the situation concerning Pakistanis traveling on tourist visas. Around 24,000 Pakistanis traveled to Cambodia this year, with half of them yet to return. Similarly, 4,000 Pakistanis visited Myanmar, and about 2,500 of them did not come back.
In a more positive development, the FIA Director General noted that strict immigration controls had resulted in an improvement in Pakistan’s passport ranking, which rose from 118th to 92nd. Previously, Pakistan ranked among the top five countries for illegal migration but has now been removed from that list due to improved policies. Illegal migration to Europe has also decreased, with 8,000 Pakistanis attempting to travel illegally last year, compared to just 4,000 this year.
Additionally, the FIA revealed that Dubai and Germany had made Pakistani official passports visa-free, and an e-immigration application would be launched by mid-January, further streamlining travel for Pakistanis.
