90 percent of beggars in foreign countries are Pakistani nationals: Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis

Pakistani beggars make up as much as 90 percent of beggars arrested in foreign countries, further fueling the issue of human trafficking, According to Dawn. 

During a discussion in the Senate panel, Overseas Ministry Secretary Zulfikar Haider disclosed that a large number of Pakistani beggars are moving abroad, adding to the problem of skilled and unskilled labor leaving the country. The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was informed of this on Wednesday.

Haider added that a staggering “90 percent of beggars” arrested in foreign countries are of Pakistani origin, Dawn reported. Many beggars exploit pilgrim visas to travel to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq. In fact, a number of pickpockets arrested at holy sites are Pakistani nationals.

Haider further said that Japan has now emerged as a new destination for such visitors, Dawn stated.

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The Pakistani senator has emphasized the need to export skilled labor in order to increase the country's foreign remittances.

"Only professionals going abroad would increase the country's foreign remittances," the senator said, according to Dawn.

The senator also noted that Saudi Arabia now prefers skilled labor over unskilled workers. He also pointed out that as many as 50,000 engineers in Pakistan are unemployed.

"India has reached the moon, while we stumble every day," the senator added.

The senator also informed that approximately three million Pakistanis are in Saudi Arabia, 1.5 million are in the UAE, and 0.2 million are in Qatar.

The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was informed on Wednesday that a large number of beggars from Pakistan were moving abroad, which has further spurred "human trafficking".

Adding to this, he noted that a significant number of pickpockets were arrested at holy sites and were identified to be Pakistani nationals.

(With ANI inputs)