Gulf countries' visa restrictions linked to Pakistani begging mafia: defence minister

• Organised recruiters send women, children abroad: Asif.
• Minister says airport officials facilitating illegal departures.
• Contractors shield beggars during police crackdowns: minister.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday lamented that Gulf nations had imposed visa restrictions for Pakistanis due to the menace of beggary.

Taking to X, the security czar posted a video of noted social worker Zafar Abbas, wherein he can be seen interviewing a child in Karachi's Shah Faisal area, who begs to make ends meet.

The child, while talking to Abbas, made startling revelations that he, along with his two brothers, makes around Rs10,000 to Rs12,000 weekly, and recently they have bought a house.

Captioning the video, Asif regretted that begging has turned into a fully organised profession, with established contractors running the network and earning millions of rupees by recruiting children, women and people posing as disabled.

The minister said the same organised groups were sending thousands of beggars to Gulf countries, adding that the host countries, after becoming fed up with the situation, were compelled to restrict or close visas for Pakistanis.

He added that officials of various government departments deployed at airports were equal partners in this "disgraceful business" and were financially benefiting from the illegal activity.

Referring to Sialkot, he said many of these beggars mostly arrive from South Punjab, stay in hotels and operate organised begging operations in the city. He said recent action by the district administration and police had reduced the scale of the activity, but their presence could still be seen.

The defence minister said that in Sialkot, the contractors running these networks appear to be financially well-off individuals. He added that whenever crackdowns are launched against beggars, these contractors approach authorities as their recommenders and try to secure relief for them.

He further remarked that this business is providing what he termed the "largest employment" in the country, and stressed that such a network cannot operate in any city without the patronage of the local administration and police.

The minister also warned that several other highly immoral and criminal activities are linked with the organised begging trade, making it a serious social and law-enforcement challenge for the country.

The statement follows media reports alleging that the UAE proposed a visa ban on Pakistanis, citing an increase in nationals involved in begging.

However, Consulate General of the UAE Karachi Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi denied such, terming it as "fake news". Speaking to Geo News, Remeithi said that no such ban has been imposed by the UAE government.

Last year in December, Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Riffat Mukhtar told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development that 56,000 Pakistanis involved in organised begging were deported from Saudi Arabia.