In the last five years, more than 164,000 Pakistani citizens have been deported from various Gulf countries, as per official data shared in Pakistan’s National Assembly. The Ministry of Interior disclosed that Saudi Arabia led with 108,029 deportations, followed by the UAE with 40,497, Oman with 9,814, Qatar with 2,971, and Bahrain with 2,779 cases. The data was presented during a session where opposition members protested the lack of meetings with former Prime Minister Imran Khan and restrictions on medical access.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif acknowledged in February that Gulf nations had ceased issuing visas to Pakistanis due to the export of organized “beggars” by mafia groups. A video shared by Asif on social media illustrated how beggars in Pakistan, through coordinated networks, could earn enough to buy houses. He cited a report by a UAE daily, emphasizing that begging had evolved into a structured profession with formal contractors recruiting individuals for profit.
Asif highlighted that the Gulf countries had halted visa issuance to Pakistanis due to the organized begging network. He pointed out the involvement of Pakistani airport staff in these operations and stressed that such a “business” could not thrive without administrative and police support. In the video, a child beggar revealed earning PKR 12,000 daily with his brothers, mentioning that one of them pretends to be disabled, and their family had purchased a house in Faisalabad.
