Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has deported 24,000 Pakistanis following allegations of begging this year amid reports of the United Arab Emirates also tightening scrutiny on Pakistani nationals, according to NDTV.
Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities reportedly said that the incidents involving its citizens are harming the country's international standing.
The UAE has imposed visa restrictions on most Pakistani citizens over concerns of some ‘getting involved in criminal activities’ after arriving in the country.
Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in its data pointed to the problem with the agency’s Director General Riffat Mukhtar admitting that these networks are causing damage to the country’s reputation.
Pakistan authorities offloaded 66,154 passengers at airports as part of a crackdown on organised begging syndicates and prevent illegal migration.
Riffat Mukhtar said the pattern of incidents were not limited to Gulf countries as similar cases were found in travels to Africa and Europe alongside misuse of tourist visas to countries including Cambodia and Thailand.
Indicating the scale of the problem, Mukhtar said that Saudi Arabia deported 24,000 Pakistanis over allegations of begging this with Dubai deporting about 6,000 individuals just as Azerbaijan sending back 2,500 Pakistani beggars.
Taking note of the trouble last year, Saudi formally urged Pakistan to stop beggars from misusing Umrah visas to visit Mecca and Medina for alms.
Back then, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Religious Affairs reportedly warned failing to prevent the practice could have consequences on Pakistani Umrah and Hajj pilgrims.
Studying the operations of organized begging, Pakistan’s attorney Rafia Zakaria wrote in Dawn: ‘One industry in Pakistan that seems to be very organised and has been quite successful in ensuring that its recruits have plenty to do is the begging industry. It is such a successful venture that it has now decided to start exporting to, and expanding in, other countries.’
Adding further she said: ‘As many Pakistanis may have seen for themselves during Haj, these beggars set up shop outside the holy places in Makkah and Madinah, where they harass foreign pilgrims for money just as they do shoppers in markets across Pakistan.’