ISLAMABAD: The federal government has initiated the process of cancelling passports of more than 7,800 citizens who were deported from different countries because of their involvement in beggary and other illegal activities abroad.

“As many as 7,873 Pakistanis have been deported from 2019 to 2025 on several accounts. Around 5,600 of them have been deported on account of beggary from Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar, as per the data received from the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) and Pakistan Missions Abroad. The Ministry of Interior has put the names of deportees on the Passport Control List (PCL),” top officials from the ministries of interior and overseas Pakistanis informed the Senate committee here on Tuesday.

Officials further informed the committee that the government has initiated the cancellation of the passports of all deportees to discourage the growing trend of beggary, which is reportedly being committed by some Pakistan nationals in Gulf countries besides being involved in other illegal activities.

The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development was especially convened at the Parliament House to discuss the issue of deportees and the action taken against them due to their involvement in illegal activities abroad. Senator Zeeshan Khanzada presided over the meeting.

Around 5,600 of them were deported from S. Arabia, Qatar and Oman over ‘beggary’

The Senate panel was further informed that about 1,460 deportees had gone abroad through 691 Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs).

Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro inquired about the steps taken by the government for preventing beggary and other crimes, which has brought disgrace to the nation and the country’s image. Senator Shahadat Awan claimed that the passport of an individual could not be cancelled for the crime committed abroad or outside the territorial jurisdiction of Pakistan.

The committee also inquired about the action taken against the OEPs involved in sending deportees abroad. Officials stated that the ministry has issued show-cause notices to those involved. It recommended that criminal proceedings be initiated against the OEPs along with direction to provide details of OEPs who sent the maximum number of Pakistanis abroad who were later found to have been involved in beggary and other criminal activities earning humiliation for Pakistan and disrupting friendly relations with the brotherly countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The Director General of Passport and Immigration, Mustafa Jamal Kazi, informed the committee about the growing trend of overstaying by the Pakistanis visiting Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq for pilgrimage. Last year alone, he said, around 34,000 Pakistanis were deported from Iran and around 50,000 others from Iraq.

He also highlighted the increasing trend of Pakistani nationals seeking asylum in Euro­pean countries.

He told the committee that around 125,000 people have sought asylum in European countries in the last year or so.

The managing director of the Overseas Employment Corporation apprised the committee that around 10.3 million Pakistani skilled workers are employed in various countries.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2025