Daily Times

Pakistani interior minister Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday met Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Dr. Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood in Islamabad and discussed the growing menace of Pakistanis traveling to the Kingdom on pilgrim and other visas and resorting to begging, the interior ministry said.

The trend of beggars abusing visas to beg in foreign countries has Pakistan worried that it could impact genuine visa-seekers and particularly religious pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. According to widespread media reports, Riyadh has raised this issue with Islamabad at various forums.

“Discussions on suppressing the mafia that sends beggars from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia discussed,” the Pakistani interior ministry said in a statement after Naqvi met Al-Dawood. “A zero tolerance policy has been adopted against beggars going to Saudi Arabia.”

The interior minister said the names of 4,300 beggars had been added to a no-fly list and an “effective crackdown” was being carried out across the country. The two officials also agreed to implement a prisoner exchange agreement, with Naqvi saying legal proceedings for the repatriation of 419 Pakistani prisoners in Saudi Arabia would be “completed soon.”

Previously, Naqvi had tasked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with cracking down on the network of beggars traveling illegally, saying it was damaging Pakistan’s image abroad.