Amid the economic crisis, Pakistan is facing another embarrassing scenario; many "professional beggars" from the country are flying out to countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq on pilgrim visas to beg. This was revealed during a Standing Committee of Overseas Pakistanis meeting held in Islamabad on Wednesday, reported local media.
Pakistan's Overseas Ministry secretary Zulfikar Haider told the Senate panel during a discussion on skilled and unskilled labour leaving the country that a "staggering 90% of professional beggars arrested in Middle Eastern nations hail from Pakistan."
"Beggars are leaving Pakistan en masse, often travelling by boatloads, and then exploiting Umrah and visit visas to beg from pilgrims abroad," Haider revealed. "A significant number of pickpockets apprehended in holy sites like Haram were also Pakistani nationals."
The prisons in Iraq and Saudi Arabia are now housing a significant number of Pakistani beggars, which Haider claims is "tarnishing the image of Pakistanis abroad. "
He added that Pakistanis are "viewed with suspicion abroad" and has contributed to the rise in deportations. "Iraq and Saudi Arabia continuously complain that we are sending criminals to their countries, and their jails are overcrowded with Pakistani beggars. This is a serious issue of human trafficking," he told the panel members.
Though the country has stringent laws against begging, panhandlers thrive in Pakistani cities like Karachi and Lahore, as the country battles inflation and unemployment. Social activists think these people are "actors" who come up with novel methods to panhandle.
'India reached the moon, but we..'
The Pakistani official said that Japan has emerged as a new destination for skilled labour abroad. While India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have made significant contributions in this regard, Pakistan has sent a mere 200 individuals to Japan, Haider added.
"India chand par pahonch gaya hai, aur hum rozana koi chaand charha dete hain (India has reached the moon, while we stumble every day)," the senator added. "Our people are now ready to work on wages lower than those of workers of Nepal and India."
