950 Pakistanis Deported in One Year Over Allegations of Begging Abroad
KARACHI: Around 950 Pakistanis were deported from different countries over allegations of begging abroad during a one-year period, according to media reports citing official data.
The figures show that between 2025 and 2026, Saudi Arabia deported the highest number of Pakistanis over alleged involvement in begging, with 897 people sent back to Pakistan.
Other deportations included 22 Pakistanis from the United Arab Emirates, 11 each from Iraq and Oman, five from Qatar, and one each from Bahrain and Malaysia.
During the same period, airport security and immigration authorities also offloaded 49 passengers travelling to different countries on suspicion that they intended to engage in begging abroad.
According to the data, 21 passengers bound for Saudi Arabia were offloaded, along with seven travelling to Bahrain, five each to the UAE and Qatar, four to Oman and three to Malaysia.
In addition, one passenger each travelling to Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Türkiye was stopped on similar allegations.
All 49 offloaded passengers were subsequently handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Anti-Human Trafficking Circles for formal legal proceedings and investigation.
The data highlights continued efforts by Pakistani authorities to prevent the misuse of overseas travel for begging and to curb activities linked to organized begging networks.
