Iran-US conflict: PTI voices concerns over UAE targeting Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday put the UAE on the spot, raising concerns over the alleged discriminatory treatment of Pakistanis following the Iran-US conflict, with Indian and US passport holders reportedly allowed to travel while Pakistanis were denied.

Speaking on a point of order in National Assembly, PTI MNA Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the UAE was a friendly country but expressed concern over developments following the Iran-US situation.

He urged the government to take Parliament into confidence over the matter, particularly regarding Pakistanis whose UAE visas had expired and were reportedly not being renewed.

“Whatever is happening, Parliament should be taken into confidence,” Gohar said, calling for the problems faced by Pakistani citizens in the UAE to be addressed.

Responding to the issue, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said he had lived in the UAE for 12 to 14 years and was aware of the treatment being meted out to Pakistanis there.

He claimed that 90 percent of those affected were people who had attempted to take sides during the recent conflict.

“If you live in a country and take a position against that country, there will be a reaction,” he said.

He also said Parliament would be briefed on matters that could be disclosed regarding the Makkah Peace Agreement.

He said he would prepare for the briefing and that the government was ready to brief the House on the agreement on Wednesday.

Another PTI leader Asad Qaiser said the UAE was a brotherly country and that Pakistanis had played a significant role in its development.

Recalling his experience during the recent disruption to air travel, he said the treatment of Pakistanis had not been appropriate.

He claimed that only holders of Indian and US passports were being allowed to travel, while Pakistani passport holders were not.

He urged the government to raise the issue with UAE authorities, stressing that the Pakistani people wanted the UAE to continue to prosper.

Gohar also raised the broader issue of terrorism, arguing that sustainable development would not be possible while violence continued.

He said he had recently visited Buner and wanted to discuss, off camera, concerns about medical students who had gone abroad and were now required to take tests administered by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.

He described the matter as serious and said the testing requirement risked wasting students’ time.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai called for an extended debate in Parliament on the deteriorating security situation in Balochistan and elsewhere in the country.

He said Pakistan was facing multiple crises and that members should be given at least two days to discuss the situation.

He claimed that dozens of people were being killed every day in Balochistan and said the rise in terrorism and other problems required serious parliamentary attention. Achakzai said his party believed in dialogue and negotiations rather than verbal attacks. “There is no better place for dialogue than this House,” he said, while criticising the government’s approach to political and social problems.

He also called for the government and opposition to work together to address the issues confronting the country rather than engaging in political recriminations.

State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry hit back at the opposition’s demand for a debate on the country’s worsening militancy, accusing the opposition of disappearing whenever Parliament is actually called upon to discuss national security.

He said the opposition routinely skipped crucial meetings, joint sittings and parliamentary debates despite being invited, questioning the sincerity of its calls for discussion on terrorism and militancy.

He recalled that whenever the government sought a debate on the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) or other matters linked to national security, the opposition led by Mahmood Khan Achakzai was conspicuously absent.

“There is no issue from the government’s side,” he said, arguing that the real problem lay with the opposition, which, according to him, said one thing on the floor of the House and then backed away when the government put the issue on the table for a substantive debate aimed at finding a joint solution.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026