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Saudi Arabia has issued a final warning to Pakistan against beggar mafia misusing Umrah visas to enter the kingdom, an English newspaper reported on Wednesday.
As per the report, Saudi authorities have raised concerns about the growing number of Pakistani beggars arriving in Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas and have warned that if the situation is not controlled, it could negatively affect Pakistani Umrah and Hajj pilgrims.
In response, Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has decided to introduce an “Umrah Act,” which aims to regulate travel agencies facilitating Umrah trips, bringing them under legal oversight, the report added.
Additionally, the ministry has reached out to the Pakistani government to find ways to prevent beggars from traveling to Saudi Arabia under the guise of religious pilgrimage.
Earlier in a meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Ahmed Al-Malki, Mohsin assured the Saudi envoy that strict measures would be implemented against the mafia responsible for sending beggars to Saudi Arabia.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been tasked with cracking down on this network, which Mohsin said is damaging Pakistan’s image. The FIA has been directed to crack down on the mafias responsible for sending beggars to Saudi Arabia.
In September last year, 16 beggars disguised as pilgrims were offloaded from a Saudi Arabia-bound flight and arrested for trying to travel to the Kingdom to indulge in begging.
According to a report last year, 90 percent of beggars arrested in foreign countries belong to Pakistan.
