Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have tightened scrutiny on Pakistani nationals amid growing concerns over organised begging and criminal activity abroad, a trend Pakistani authorities say is harming the country's international standing.
Saudi Arabia alone has deported 56,000 Pakistanis over allegations of begging, while the UAE has imposed visa restrictions on most Pakistani citizens, citing concerns that some were "getting involved in criminal activities" after arriving in the country.
Data from Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) shows the scale of the problem. In 2025, authorities offloaded 66,154 passengers at airports in an attempt to dismantle organised begging syndicates and prevent illegal migration.
READ | UAE Halts Visas For Pakistanis Amid Rising Cases Of Begging And Crime
FIA Director General Riffat Mukhtar said these networks were causing reputational damage to Pakistan. He noted that the pattern was not limited to the Gulf. Similar cases, he said, have been detected involving travel to Africa and Europe, as well as misuse of tourist visas to destinations such as Cambodia and Thailand.
According to Mukhtar, Saudi Arabia deported 24,000 Pakistanis this year on allegations of begging. Dubai sent back about 6,000 individuals, while Azerbaijan deported roughly 2,500 Pakistani beggars.
The issue had already drawn sharp attention from Saudi authorities last year. In 2024, Riyadh formally urged Pakistan to prevent beggars from exploiting Umrah visas to travel to Mecca and Medina for alms. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Religious Affairs warned at the time that failure to curb the practice could have adverse consequences for Pakistani Umrah and Hajj pilgrims.
The phenomenon has also been analysed by legal experts in Pakistan. Writing in Dawn last year, attorney Rafia Zakaria described begging as a highly structured enterprise rather than an act of desperation.
"One industry in Pakistan that seems to be very organised and has been quite successful in ensuring that its recruits have plenty to do is the begging industry. It is such a successful venture that it has now decided to start exporting to, and expanding in, other countries," she wrote.
She added, "As many Pakistanis may have seen for themselves during Haj, these beggars set up shop outside the holy places in Makkah and Madinah, where they harass foreign pilgrims for money just as they do shoppers in markets across Pakistan."
Government officials have echoed similar concerns. In 2024, Secretary of Overseas Pakistanis Zeeshan Khanzada said that an overwhelming majority of beggars detained in West Asian countries were Pakistani nationals, estimating the figure at 90%.
