DUBAI, Jan 17: A senior Pakistani diplomat in Dubai said on Friday that ignorance and lengthy paperwork was to blame for the confusion prevailing among those illegal immigrants who want to take the UAE government’s offer of amnesty.
The diplomat emphasized the need for launching a “massive awareness campaign” to educate the people about the amnesty offer. A Dubai newspaper has quoted an unnamed official from the Pakistan consulate that very few out of those who were issued the outpasses were able to leave the country.
“There still is confusion as people, especially the illiterate, do not know what to do and where to go after getting outpasses from the consulate,” the Gulf News quoted the diplomat as saying.
The UAE government has set up centres and special telephone lines to issue exit permits to amnesty seekers, but the process is still said to be confusing as a large number of illegal immigrants are illiterate.
Large crowds are seen gathered in front of the Pakistani consulate every day with a lot of unanswered questions, complaining of not getting any guidance from anywhere.
Mohammed Maqsood was one of those frustrated people in front of the Pakistani mission who narrated his story to the Gulf News reporter: “We got outpasses and tickets and went to immigration, but officials told us to go to jail.
“But when we went to jail, they told us to go to the immigration authorities. We were confused and came back to the consulate (where) officials said their job is to issue outpasses only. We don’t know what to do.”
The Pakistan consulate is issuing 50 to 60 outpasses every day to those amnesty seekers who are without any travel documents and asking them to go to immigration. “That is all we know,” the official was quoted as saying, claiming at the same time “the consulate is trying its best to create awareness”.
The UAE government has announced a four-month amnesty, which began on Jan 1, for illegal immigrants to leave the country.
