Over 164,000 Pakistanis deported from Gulf states in five years, NA told

ISLAMABAD: More than 164,000 Pakistanis were deported from Gulf countries over the past five years, according to official figures presented in the National Assembly on Monday.

The Ministry of Interior informed the lower house that Saudi Arabia accounted for the highest number of deportations, with 108,029 Pakistanis sent back during the period under review. The United Arab Emirates was next with 40,497 deportations, followed by Oman with 9,814, Qatar with 2,971 and Bahrain with 2,779, according to the data tabled in the House.

Stormy National Assembly sitting

The figures were presented during a tense sitting of the National Assembly that also saw opposition lawmakers intensify their protest over the denial of meetings with PTI founder Imran Khan and what they described as restrictions on his medical access.

The session was presided over by Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah. Proceedings were repeatedly disrupted by sloganeering from opposition benches, while opposition members also staged a sit-in in front of the speaker’s dais.

In an unusual move during the sitting, opposition lawmakers led by Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai also held what was described as a symbolic parallel assembly inside the House.

Speaking on the floor, Achakzai said the government had not responded to the opposition’s demands regarding access to the PTI founder and concerns related to healthcare. He warned that the opposition would neither allow the House to function nor take part in the budget process.

The opposition later walked out of the session and also drew attention to the lack of quorum.

Cybercrime complaints and arrests

Separately, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency submitted its report to the House, detailing the volume of complaints and enforcement action in recent years.

More than 531,000 complaints were received between 2023 and the present. Over 5,700 cases were registered during that period.

The report further stated that 7,600 people were arrested over the past four years in connection with cybercrime-related offences.

Private healthcare costs also raised

During the same sitting, lawmakers also took up the issue of rising private healthcare costs in Islamabad.

The National Assembly session thus combined discussion of official data on deportations from Gulf states with sharp political confrontation, cybercrime statistics and concerns over healthcare expenses in the federal capital.