Islamabad [Pakistan] December 19 : Thousands of Pakistanis have been deported from different countries for begging, while tens of thousands were stopped at airports this year over suspected illegal travel attempts, Geo News reported.
During the session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Rights, chaired by Agha Rafiullah, the Director General of the FIA, Riffat Mukhtar Raja, detailed enforcement actions and recent trends. He informed the committee that 51,000 Pakistanis were denied entry this year.
Further, he reported that Saudi Arabia had the highest rate of deportations, sending back 24,000 individuals for begging. The UAE also deported 6,000 Pakistanis on similar grounds, while around 2,500 beggars were expelled from Azerbaijan.
He noted that several people attempting to reach Europe under the guise of going for Umrah were intercepted after authorities discovered documents indicating their intention to enter European countries. "Those passengers were denied entry based on evidence," the FIA DG stated, as noted by Geo News.
Additionally, the committee was briefed that 24,000 Pakistanis travelled to Cambodia this year, with 12,000 still unreturned, while 4,000 went to Myanmar on tourist visas, and approximately 2,500 of them did not return, as reported by Geo News.
The FIA chief remarked that enhanced controls had raised Pakistan's passport ranking from 118 to 92, highlighting that the country was previously among the top five nations for illegal migration, but had improved its standing due to updated policies.
He also mentioned a decrease in illegal migration to Europe, with 8,000 Pakistanis travelling illegally last year, compared to 4,000 this year. The FIA DG conveyed that Dubai and Germany had made official passports visa-free, and an e-immigration application is set to launch by mid-January, as reported by Geo News.
Earlier in January this year, over 200 Pakistanis were deported from several countries, including Saudi Arabia and the US, in the past week, Geo News reported on Wednesday. According to Geo News, these deportations stem from a variety of issues such as visa violations, legal problems, and human trafficking.
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