’90 pc of beggars’ arrested abroad belongs to cash-strapped Pakistan: Report

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Amid the growing economic crisis, the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was informed that 90 per cent of beggars who were arrested abroad were from Pakistan. Overseas Ministry Secretary Zulfikar Haider made this proclamation in a senate panel discussion on Wednesday.

As per the Pakistani news outlet Dawn, the panel was discussing the rise of skilled and unskilled labour leaving the country, amid the economic crisis.

In the meeting, Haider explained that many beggars in the country exploited pilgrim visas to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq. The official noted that a significant number of pickpockets apprehended in holy sites like Haram were also Pakistani nationals, Dawn reported.

The official noted that Japan is one of the new destinations for such visitors. Meanwhile, Senator Rana Mehmoodul Hasan highlighted the country’s deplorable conditions by comparing the rapid development taking place in India. “India chand par pahuch gaya hai, aur hum rozana koi chaand charha dete hain,” the senator added.

During the meeting, Senator Hasan noted that as many as 50,000 engineers in Pakistan are still unemployed. Regarding working abroad, Hasan noted that Pakistani labour is cheaper than its neighbouring nations.

“Our people are now ready to work on wages lower than those of workers of Nepal and India,” Hasan told the gathering Dawn reported. Citing concerns about the skills and trustworthiness of labour, Hasan reiterated that both India and Bangladesh are way ahead in this regard.

Meanwhile, Haider noted that a large number of beggars moving abroad has further spurred the cases of human trafficking.

The panel was informed that approximately three million Pakistanis were in Saudi Arabia, 1.5 million were in the UAE, and 0.2 million were in Qatar, Dawn reported. The committee findings came a month after reports emerged that 450,000 Pakistanis have left their country in search of better job opportunities in the first half of 2023.

According to the Gulf News, around 4,50,110 Pakistanis left their homeland in the first seven months of 2023. As per the news outlet, the figures include a diverse mix of individuals from various professional backgrounds and qualifications.