News Desk
ISLAMABAD—Nearly 100 Pakistani nationals have been deported from six countries, including Saudi Arabia, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), over a range of legal and immigration infractions, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Saudi authorities, the sources said, expelled 46 individuals for various violations, including five who were blacklisted, 13 arrested for begging, and five who had overstayed their permitted duration. Another 16 individuals were removed for breaching contractual obligations, while 23 workers who had absconded from their jobs were also deported. Additionally, 13 Pakistanis were sent back for working without a sponsor, a violation of Saudi Arabia’s stringent labor laws.
Elsewhere in the region, three blacklisted Pakistanis were deported from Oman, Somaliland, and the UAE. In Canada, authorities removed one Pakistani national for overstaying their visa. Iraq expelled seven individuals for illegal residence, while the UAE deported one individual over documentation issues and repatriated nine others following their release from jail.
In a related development, Pakistani immigration authorities at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport offloaded 47 passengers bound for 16 destinations due to visa and travel documentation irregularities, airport officials confirmed.
Among those prevented from traveling, three individuals were on a blacklist. Two passengers, including a woman, were stopped while attempting to travel to the United Kingdom on student visas, while another individual was denied travel on a UK visit visa. A passenger bound for Turkey on a festival visa was prevented from boarding after failing to provide evidence of their connection to the event.
The authorities also stopped 19 Umrah pilgrims from departing due to a lack of confirmed hotel bookings and insufficient proof of financial means. Two individuals with Saudi work visas were offloaded due to blacklisting concerns, while two passengers traveling on arrival visas for the Maldives and Liberia were barred from flying.
Other offloaded travelers included a passenger with a South African residence permit who failed to carry proper identification and four passengers holding tourist or work visas for Tanzania and Malawi. Additionally, authorities blocked five individuals from flying to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia on tourist visas.
Pakistan’s immigration authorities have ramped up scrutiny of outbound travelers in recent months, seeking to curb visa violations and illegal migration attempts, officials noted. The latest deportations and offloading incidents underscore the growing challenges faced by Pakistani citizens seeking legal migration pathways.
