Rising concerns among Middle Eastern countries over the increasing number of Pakistanis involved in begging have prompted authorities to take action, leading to stricter screening of passengers traveling to these destinations.
A senior official from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) informed Dawn that immigration staff at airports have offloaded several passengers from flights in recent months to curb this trend. These potential beggars often pose as tourists to visit countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, Oman, and Turkey.
Pakistani officials have also voiced alarm over the growing presence of Pakistani beggars abroad. A high-ranking official told the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis that 90% of beggars arrested in foreign countries are of Pakistani origin.
In a previous meeting of the committee earlier this year, the Interior Ministry revealed that 44,000 passengers had been offloaded over similar suspicions in the past two and a half years.
Recently, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has shown a keen interest in cracking down on human traffickers and the beggar mafia, according to officials.
FIA sources indicated that “gangs” of potential beggars primarily operate out of districts in South Punjab, with many traveling from Multan airport disguised as religious tourists.
Impact on Genuine Travelers
FIA Gujranwala Region Director Qadir Qamar also mentioned to Dawn that airport staff are offloading passengers with fake or suspicious travel documents.
UAE authorities have begun actively denying visas to Pakistanis who lack sufficient funds in their accounts to be considered “genuine visitors,” according to travel agents. However, this increased scrutiny has a downside, as many foreign embassies and their visa services for Pakistan operate out of the UAE. Travel agents worry that this could impact those who need to travel to these countries for visa interviews.
Stricter Visa Regulations
While Pakistani authorities are taking action, they have also urged Middle Eastern and Gulf countries to tighten their visa regulations. A senior FIA officer suggested that these countries should examine their visa processing systems, rather than solely pressuring Pakistani authorities to stop potential beggars, criminals, and illegal immigrants.
For instance, most Western countries require bank statements, property, and tax documents along with visa applications to ensure that travelers have the means to support themselves during their stay. Immigration staff at airports are now asking passengers who frequently travel to and from the Middle East about their professions, businesses, and bank accounts to assess their purpose of travel. If suspicions arise, travelers are offloaded from flights.
Repatriation of Criminals
In addition to the crackdown on beggar rings, officials are working with foreign countries, particularly Middle Eastern states, to repatriate wanted criminals. Punjab police have repatriated several criminals, wanted for serious offenses, from Dubai in recent years.
Most of these criminals, from central Punjab districts such as Gujrat, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin, and Hafizabad, have been brought back through Interpol and handed over to the respective district police, according to FIA sources.
The agency is also targeting human traffickers, especially in the Gujranwala, Gujrat, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir regions. The crackdown on human traffickers intensified last year after a boat carrying hundreds of Pakistanis sank near Greece.
FIA Gujranwala Region Director Qadir Qamar told Dawn that the agency’s anti-human trafficking cell has arrested around 200 alleged traffickers in the last two months, including those involved in the Greek boat tragedy.
To effectively combat human trafficking and other criminal activities, the Interior Ministry has upgraded the FIA office in Gujranwala to a regional directorate.
They are following in the footsteps of their current Prime Minister, who is visiting various countries for this purpose.