Pakistan is currently facing the brunt of poverty. On the other hand, its citizens are now going abroad and begging. Saudi Arabia has taken action against beggars. The country has expelled 56,000 Pakistani citizens from the country due to allegations of begging. After this, Saudi and United Arab Emirates (UAE) have started strict investigation of Pakistani citizens.
Pakistani There are increasing concerns abroad regarding organized begging and criminal activities involving civilians. Pakistan’s image is being damaged by such news. However, this is not the first time that Saudi has taken action against Pakistanis begging in the country. This has happened before also.
PAK took action
According to Pakistani officials, Saudi Arabia alone has expelled 56,000 Pakistani citizens from the country on charges of begging. At the same time, UAE has also imposed visa restrictions on most Pakistani citizens. UAE says that some tourists were getting involved in criminal activities after entering the country.
Statistics of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) show that in the year 2025, with the aim of breaking organized begging gangs and stopping illegal migration, FIA officers stopped 66,154 passengers at the airport before leaving for abroad.
Network spread in many areas
FIA Director General Riffat Mukhtar said that these networks are causing serious damage to Pakistan’s international image and are no longer limited to any one area. According to Mukhtar, this year Saudi Arabia expelled about 24 thousand Pakistani citizens from the country on charges of begging. Whereas about 6 thousand people were sent back from Dubai.
He told that Azerbaijan has also expelled about 2,500 Pakistani beggars. Similar cases have also been reported related to trips to Africa and Europe, as well as cases of misuse of tourist visas for countries like Cambodia and Thailand.
Saudi had warned
Earlier last year, Saudi officials had given a strong warning to Pakistan on this matter. In the year 2024, Riyadh had formally requested Islamabad to stop Pakistani beggars from misusing Umrah visas and going to Mecca and Medina to beg. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs had warned that if this practice was not curbed, it could have an impact on Pakistani Umrah and Haj pilgrims.
Government officials have also expressed similar concerns. In the year 2024, Secretary of Overseas Pakistanis, Zeeshan Khanzada had said that about 90 percent of the beggars caught in West Asian countries are Pakistani citizens.
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