In recent days, as many as 16 alleged beggars trying to travel to Saudi Arabia for begging were arrested at Multan. They were reportedly offloaded from a Saudi Arabia-bound flight. The group is said to have obtained valid Umrah visas to travel to Saudi Arabia.
Needless to say, this issue has already earned the country a lot of embarrassment.
It is said that 90 percent beggars arrested abroad in recent weeks and months, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, are Pakistanis. The majority of pickpockets arrested in Saudi Arabia is also of Pakistani descent. It is true that begging is a social problem and has to be seen in a holistic manner as there are numerous contributory factors such as poverty and unemployment.
It is said that some countries have lodged complaints with our authorities about the arrival of beggars on their lands from Pakistan. This unsavoury development has further dented country’s image abroad.
It is true that beggars are everywhere. One can find them in front of mosques, restaurants, religious shrines, traffic signals, tourist places, schools, and cinemas. The number of beggars is growing at a very fast pace in Karachi in particular, the country’s largest city.
The current economic impasse in the country, which is characterized by, among other things, the lack of employment opportunities, rising inflation and deepening poverty, has given a big boost to the so-called begging industry.
Angola, an African country, was once known for exporting a very special thing — communism — to the entire continent.
We as a nation do not have any plausible answer to the question whether or not Pakistan is exporting beggars to various countries as part of a policy with a view to increasing its workers’ remittances in order to shore up its falling foreign exchange reserves. Enough is enough.
Mehdi Hasan (Karachi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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