Saudi Arabia deported around 24,000 Pakistanis over allegations of begging, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sent back 6,000 on similar grounds, according to a report by Geo News that cites Pakistani officials.The numbers were shared during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Rights, which was chaired by Agha Rafiullah. The Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency, Riffat Mukhtar Raja, briefed lawmakers on deportations, travel restrictions and illegal migration trends involving Pakistani nationals.Raja told the committee that a total of 51,000 Pakistanis were denied entry to foreign countries this year. Saudi Arabia accounted for the highest number of deportations related to begging, followed by UAE. Azerbaijan also expelled about 2,500 Pakistanis for the same reason.He said authorities had also stopped thousands of people at airports over suspected illegal travel attempts. Several passengers were intercepted while travelling for Umrah after officials discovered documents suggesting they intended to enter Europe instead. “Those passengers were denied entry based on evidence,” the FIA chief said, as quoted by Geo News.The committee was also informed about concerning travel patterns to Southeast Asia. Raja said 24,000 Pakistanis travelled to Cambodia this year, but 12,000 have not returned. In addition, around 4,000 people went to Myanmar on tourist visas, with around 2,500 still unaccounted for.Raja said that stricter controls and monitoring had helped improve Pakistan’s passport ranking from 118 to 92. He said Pakistan had previously been among the top five countries for illegal migration but had seen progress due to updated policies and enforcement measures.Illegal migration to Europe has also declined, according to the FIA. Raja told lawmakers that about 8,000 Pakistanis travelled illegally to Europe last year, compared with 4,000 this year. He added that Dubai and Germany had made official passports visa-free, and an e immigration application is expected to launch by mid-January.Earlier this year, more than 200 Pakistanis were deported in a single week from countries including Saudi Arabia and the United States. Geo News reported that those deportations were linked to visa violations, legal issues and human trafficking cases.
