EDITORIAL: It has been going on for quite some time. As part of an organised activity men and women using pilgrim visas have been arriving mostly in Saudi Arabia but also in Iran and Iraq for begging.
The begging mafias operated mainly out of the Multan airport until the immigration staff started offloading passengers carrying fake or suspicious travel documents. They seem to have been trying Karachi as an alternative conduit.
Within a span of 24 hours on Tuesday, 40 purported Umrah pilgrims were taken off various flights at the Karachi airport because they did not have enough money for hotel stay and other expenses, hence were suspected to be potential beggars.
Seen as a huge nuisance in other countries many of them end up in prisons. Not long ago an interior ministry official had told a Senate committee that 90 percent of people arrested for begging abroad were Pakistanis.
These people not only bring a bad name to Pakistan they indignify those with sound credentials working hard to earn an honest living. The issue has also clouded genuine visa seekers’ prospects.
Saudi ministry of religious affairs is said to have warned authorities in Islamabad that failure to control the flow of beggars into the kingdom could negatively affect those who want to visit the holy land for Umrah or Hajj.
The UAE has also started refusing visas to Pakistanis who do not have enough money in their bank accounts to prove them as genuine visitors, which can upset plans of legitimate visitors who need short-term visas for job interviews or appear in exams.
The emirate now also requires a police certification report for visas. Meanwhile, according to reports, senior diplomats from various Gulf countries have been complaining of their prisons overcrowded with Pakistani baggers, asking the government to resolve the problem.
Separately, during his visit to Islamabad last November, Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Dr Nasser bin Abdul Aziz Al-Dawood needed to be assured by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi that the names of some 4,300 beggars were placed on the Exit Control List, and that crackdown on beggar mafias was underway across the country.
While the latest action at the Karachi airport is significant in that the immigration staff is doing its job effectively, it shows that those in this nefarious business still remain active.
Some of the 40 persons ordered off flights may have had justifiable reasons for travel, however, considering what has been going on at the Multan airport, a considerable number of them could be potential beggars.
In any event, the police are known to be well-informed about presence within their respective remit of criminal elements or other delinquents. A better cooperation between the police and the Federal Investigation Agency, therefore, is necessary to stop the export of beggars, tarnishing the image of this country and causing annoyance to its friends.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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