Pakistan minister Mohsin Naqvi, who ‘stole’ India’s trophy, bans ‘professional beggars’ from flying abroad after Saudi deports 24,000

Pakistan has barred ‘professional beggars’ and travellers with incomplete documents from going abroad after thousands of its nationals were deported for begging and suspected illegal migration, according to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan. The decision follows repeated incidents of passengers being offloaded at airports and comes after Saudi Arabia alone deported tens of thousands of Pakistani beggars. The move signals a tougher stance by Islamabad as global scrutiny of Pakistani travellers increases.

Mohsin Naqvi, who refused to handover Asia Cup trophy to India, announced ban

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced the restriction as authorities moved to plug gaps that allowed irregular travel and overseas begging. “Professional beggars and people travelling with incomplete documents will not be allowed to go abroad,” Radio Pakistan quoted him as saying.Also Read: Saudi, UAE & Azerbaijan deport Pakistanis for beggingOfficials say the ban aims to prevent further embarrassment after deportations from Gulf countries and beyond.

Pakistan airports tighten checks nationwide

The problem has played out visibly at airports. Reports have emerged of Pakistani passengers being stopped and offloaded before boarding international flights.

Geo News reported that tens of thousands of people were blocked at airports this year over suspected illegal travel attempts. Earlier, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said more than 66,000 passengers were offloaded across the country over suspected irregular travel, while many others were deported from foreign countries amid a wider crackdown on illegal migration, Arab News reported.Also Read: After Saudi Arabia sends back Pakistanis caught begging, UAE tightens visa rules to curb surge in criminalThe scale of deportations was laid out during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Rights, chaired by Agha Rafiullah.

FIA Director General Riffat Mukhtar Raja told the committee that 51,000 Pakistanis were denied entry into foreign countries this year.

Saudi Arabia led the list, deporting 24,000 individuals for begging. The UAE sent back 6,000 Pakistanis on similar grounds, while around 2,500 beggars were deported from Azerbaijan.

Umrah route misused to reach Europe

Authorities also uncovered cases of travellers attempting to enter Europe by posing as Umrah pilgrims.

“Those passengers were denied entry based on evidence,” the FIA DG stated, as reported by Geo News, after officials found documents showing plans to move onward to European countries.

The committee was told that unusual travel patterns had emerged in Southeast Asia. According to Geo News, 24,000 Pakistanis travelled to Cambodia this year, but 12,000 have not returned.

Similarly, 4,000 Pakistanis went to Myanmar on tourist visas, and about 2,500 of them did not come back.