The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia has deported 5,033 Pakistani nationals for begging over the past 16 months. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi shared the information in a written response to a question raised by PPP MNA Sehar Kamran.
According to official data, a total of 5,402 Pakistanis have been deported from six countries — Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE — since January 2024. In 2024 alone, 4,850 were deported, while 552 have been repatriated so far this year.
The minister did not provide the requested three-year data but submitted figures starting from January 2024.
A province-wise breakdown reveals that Sindh accounted for the highest number of deportees, with 2,795 individuals. Punjab followed with 1,437, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 1,002, Balochistan with 125, Azad Kashmir with 33, and Islamabad with 10.
In addition to deportations, 369 Pakistanis were apprehended for begging in five other countries during the same period.
