Most beggars arrested abroad come from crisis-hit Pakistan: report

New Delhi:

Amidst Pakistan’s current economic crisis, worrying news has emerged regarding human trafficking. Pakistani media Dawn reported that the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was informed that a growing number of beggars from Pakistan were moving abroad, which has spurred “human trafficking”. During a discussion within the Senate panel on the issue of migration of skilled and unskilled labor from Pakistan, Overseas Ministry Secretary Zulfikar Haider revealed this information, Dawn said.

The problem of “human trafficking” is getting worse, according to Haider, as more and more beggars from Pakistan travel abroad. He revealed that these beggars regularly exploit pilgrim visas to enter countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq. He further informed about the growing trend of beggars flying to Japan from Pakistan on flights bound for overseas locations.

Most of the pickpockets trapped inside holy places like Haram are also Pakistanis, he added. Most of the beggars go on Umrah visa, they do not get work visas, The nation he quoted the secretary as saying. He said Japan had become a new destination for such visitors.

He noted that Saudi Arabia now prefers skilled workers over unskilled workers. Senator Rana Mehmoodul Hasan highlighted Japan’s demand for skilled workers from various countries, with India, Nepal and Pakistan supplying different numbers of people. He also drew attention to the approximately 50,000 unemployed engineers in Pakistan.

Speaking about the Middle East, Senator Hasan noted that there are around three million Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia, 1.5 million in the United Arab Emirates and approximately 200,000 in Qatar. Haider urged that collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and related agencies is needed to help Pakistani engineers find employment opportunities in countries like Japan and China, given the prevailing severe economic crisis.

Furthermore, he acknowledged desperation among highly skilled professionals in Pakistan, who are currently willing to accept salaries as low as Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 a month. Senator Zeeshan Khanzada echoed Senator Mahmood’s views, highlighting the extreme desperation of the Pakistani population, some of whom are even willing to pay significant sums of money for employment visas due to rampant inflation and recession.