Islamabad:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and many other Gulf countries have imposed an indefinite ban on granting visas to people from at least 30 different cities of Pakistan. These restrictions have been imposed due to the involvement of Pakistani citizens in begging abroad or in drug trafficking, human trafficking and other criminal activities. The Gulf countries and their cities, especially Dubai and Abu Dhabi, are the most preferred destinations for millions of Pakistani travelers and job seekers.
However, following the ban and increasing incidents of visa application rejections, the already tarnished image of the Pakistani passport – which has been ranked fourth worst in the world for the third consecutive year – will suffer further irreparable damage.
Character certificates being sought from Pakistani citizens
The UAE has made it mandatory for visa applicants from Pakistan to submit a character certificate issued by the police.
A prominent Pakistani YouTuber has also admitted the difficulties faced by travelers from the country after Gulf countries rejected the visa applications of Pakistani citizens.
More problems for those not coming from major cities
In the last few years, a large number of suspicious travelers from Pakistan have gone abroad and become illegal drug smugglers, beggars and human smugglers and start living abroad illegally.
“Since last year, we have seen hundreds of cases where Gulf countries are denying labor visas, visit visas and even tourist visas to Pakistanis,” Muddasar Mir, managing director of Vinci Tours and Travels in Islamabad, told IANS. “The number of rejections is particularly high for those who do not come from major cities of the country.”
He said that there are many reasons behind the rejection of Pakistani visa applications by Gulf countries. The main reasons for these are beggars and drug smugglers, who are caught after reaching Gulf countries on travel or job visas. Many Pakistanis have also been caught smuggling drugs. Recruitment companies in Gulf countries, especially those involved in sending laborers to Gulf countries, are also using fake documents and experience certificates. They bribe the agencies and get the work done.
Many Gulf companies have complained to their recruiters in Pakistan that the workforce they are sending fails to meet even the basic requirements of the respective job, causing serious problems.
Eight lakh Pakistanis apply for Gulf countries every year
Statistics show that more than eight lakh Pakistanis apply for visas to Gulf and West Asian countries every year in search of work and job opportunities and use it as a stepping stone towards traveling to Western and European countries .
More than 4000 Pakistani beggars arrested in Saudi Arabia
In the past, more than four thousand Pakistani beggars have been arrested in Saudi Arabia, especially from Mecca and Medina where they were caught begging during Umrah and Hajj processions. Many Pakistanis have also been caught on charges of carrying illegal drugs and being involved in illegal activities.
This ultimately resulted in severe restrictions being imposed on Pakistani passports and citizens of the country by many countries, leading to the visa applications of thousands of travelers being rejected.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by the NDTV team and is published directly from a syndicated feed.)
