Pakistan starts cancelling passports over 7,800 deportees linked to beggary abroad

Pakistan government has initiated the process of cancelling passports of more than 7,800 citizens who were deported from different countries because of their involvement in beggary and other illegal activities abroad, reports DAWN.

“As many as 7,873 Pakistanis have been deported from 2019 to 2025 on several accounts. Around 5,600 of them have been deported on account of beggary from Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar, as per the data received from the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) and Pakistan Missions Abroad."

"The Ministry of Interior has put the names of deportees on the Passport Control List (PCL),” top officials from the ministries of interior and overseas Pakistanis informed the Senate committee here on Tuesday.

The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development was especially convened at the Parliament House to discuss the issue of deportees and the action taken against them due to their involvement in illegal activities abroad.

Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro inquired about the steps taken by the government for preventing beggary and other crimes, which has brought disgrace to the nation and the country’s image.

The Director General of Passport and Immigration, Mustafa Jamal Kazi, informed the committee about the growing trend of overstaying by the Pakistanis visiting Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq for pilgrimage. Last year alone, he said, around 34,000 Pakistanis were deported from Iran and around 50,000 others from Iraq.

He also highlighted the increasing trend of Pakistani nationals seeking asylum in Euro­pean countries. "Around 125,000 people have sought asylum in European countries in the last year or so," he said.