ISLAMABAD: Over 5000 beggars were deported from various countries during the year 2024-25, according to a report submitted to the National Assembly by the Interior Ministry.
The report stated that the countries included are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Malaysia, UAE, Qatar, and Oman.
As many 4,850 beggars were expelled only in the year of 2024 from these countries, with the largest numbers from Saudi Arabia, the report said.
Iraq follows the list with 242 beggars, 55 from Malaysia, and 49 from the United Arab Emirates.
It further said that of a total of 552 beggars banished from different countries in the first five months of 2025, 535 were banished from Saudi Arabia, nine from the UAE, and five from Iraq.
Earlier, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s immigration wing had arrested three women who were begging in Saudi Arabia on the pretext of being Umrah pilgrims, here on Sunday.
As per the details, the women, hailing from Multan, Muzaffargarh and Rahim Yar Khan, were arrested at Sialkot International Airport upon their return to Pakistan. According to an FIA spokesperson, the women had been begging in Saudi Arabia for several months.
The incident follows a similar operation in October, where FIA officials arrested eight people who were trying to go abroad to beg. The arrests were made during two separate operations at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport.
