KARACH: The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was informed on Wednesday that a growing number of beggars from Pakistan were moving abroad, which has spurred ‘human trafficking’.

Secretary Zulfikar Hai­der of Ministry for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Deve­lop­ment made this disclosure during a discussion in the Senate panel on the issue of skilled and unskilled labour leaving Pakistan, Dawn.com reported.

In a startling revelation, Secretary Haider informed the committee that a staggering “90 per cent of beggars” arrested in other countries were of Pakistani origin. He explained that many beggars exploited pilgrim visas to travel to Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq.

The official also regretted that a significant number of pickpockets apprehended in holy sites like the Haram were also Pakistani nationals.

Senate panel told Middle East main destination for ‘pickpockets’

During the discussion, he noted that Japan had emerged as a new destination for such visitors.

While emphasising Pakistan’s historical role in exporting skilled labour, the secretary expressed optimism that the country’s foreign remittances would increase when professionals went abroad. He said Saudi Arabia now preferred skilled labour over untrained individuals.

Senator Rana Mehmoodul Hasan highlighted Japan’s demand for skilled workers from different countries, with India, Nepal, and Pakistan sending varying numbers of individuals. He also mentioned that around 50,000 engineers in Pakistan were unemployed.

Regarding the Middle East, he mentioned that around three million Pakistanis were in Saudi Arabia, 1.5m others in the UAE, while there were around 200,000 people from Pakistan in Qatar.

Citing concerns over skills and trustworthiness of Pakistani workers in the eyes of foreign employers, Secretary Haider acknowledged that Bangladesh and India had surpassed Pakistan in this aspect.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2023