FIA arrest a group of beggars before departing for Saudi Arabia on Umrah visa

The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Immigration unit on Friday arrested a group of beggars attempting to leave for Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas.

As reported the 16 suspects arrested were traveling on an Umrah visa from Multan when they were offloaded from a plane.

Director FIA Khalid Anees led an operation to uncover a disturbing trend of exploitation under the pretext of undertaking the sacred Umrah pilgrimage.

An agent identified as Nuro has been arrested by the FIA.

The agent is alleged to have been responsible for facilitating a group of beggars to enter Saudi Arabia, where they would engage in begging within the holy cities of Islam.

The arrested individuals include eleven women, five men, and one child.

All the individuals hail from Kassowal town in Punjab’s Chichawatni tehsil, Sahiwal district.

As reported, three agents had made arrangements for their accommodation in Saudi Arabia as they had agreed to receive a 50 percent share of the total amount to be given by people to the beggars.

The development comes days after the secretary overseas told a standing committee of the Senate that 90% of beggars arrested abroad are Pakistani nationals.

Secretary Overseas Pakistanis Zulfikar Haider expressed his deep frustration and raised concerns over the inadequate measures taken to address this escalating issue.

He stated, “Beggars are leaving Pakistan en masse, often traveling by boatloads, and then exploiting Umrah and visit visas to beg from pilgrims abroad.”

Haider also informed the committee that prisons in Iraq and Saudi Arabia are now housing a significant number of Pakistani beggars, further tarnishing the image of Pakistanis abroad.

The alarming statistics prompted a heated discussion during a meeting of the Standing Committee of Overseas Pakistanis.