The Federal Investigation Agency’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Smugglingdivision once again took decisive action at Lahore’s Allama IqbalInternational Airport on Friday.
They prevented a group of alleged beggars from embarking on a trip to SaudiArabia, disguising it as an Umrah pilgrimage. This incident is part of arecent series of similar attempts thwarted by the FIA, damaging thecountry’s international reputation.
The issue has also reached the Senate, where the Standing Committee ofOverseas Pakistanis was informed that a significant 90% of professionalbeggars arrested in Middle Eastern countries come from Pakistan. Pakistaninationals are disproportionately involved in minor crimes, such aspickpocketing, near the revered Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia.
In this latest incident, two men and two women were offloaded by FIAimmigration officers and handed over to the police for furtherinvestigation. These alleged beggars admitted to begging in Iran and Iraqpreviously and revealed that Pakistani travel agents facilitated theirjourneys.
These agents would drop them in highly populated areas of Saudi Arabia tocollect money through begging, with half of the earnings going to theagents. Cases have been registered against the accused and the agents, withongoing investigations, according to the FIA spokesman.
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In a similar operation the previous Friday, the FIA detained a group ofbeggars attempting to leave for Saudi Arabia under the pretext ofundertaking the sacred Umrah pilgrimage. This group, including children andwomen, raised concerns about the exploitation of religious sentiments forillegal activities.
Director FIA Khalid Anees led the operation, which exposed a troublingtrend of exploitation by an agent named Nuro, who allegedly facilitatedthese beggars’ entry into Saudi Arabia for begging within the holy citiesof Islam. The individuals arrested, consisting of eight women, four men,and as many children, all come from Kassowal town in Punjab’s Chichawatnitehsil, Sahiwal district.