At least 23 Asian nationals, including four Pakistanis, have been killed or missing in the US-Iran war
Smoke rises from the direction of an energy plant in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah. Photo: AFP
In what should be a time of celebration, families across Pakistan will instead mark Eid in mourning after loved ones working in the Gulf were killed in the Iran conflict.
At least 23 workers from countries including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have been killed or reported missing since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, according to a Anatolia vote.
Muzaffar Ali, a 28-year-old from Sindh, was among those killed when shrapnel from a missile hit his car in Dubai. He left behind three small children, the oldest just 7 years old.
“He went to Dubai four years ago in search of a better life,” said his uncle Abdul Hakim Anatolia by telephone.
“He paid off the loans he had taken from relatives for the move. The last time we spoke, he told me he had almost paid off everything he owed. Now he could finally relax.”
Muzaffar was among three Pakistanis confirmed dead in the Middle East conflict. A fourth Pakistani fisherman was killed in Iranian waters after being hit by debris from an intercepted Israeli missile.
“Split injured his face. He died in the hospital,” Hakim said. “I don’t know who is going to feed his family. He was the breadwinner.”
The nearly two dozen people from Asian nations killed or missing since the conflict began include six from India, four from Bangladesh and one person each from China, Nepal and the Philippines.
Three Indonesians and three Thais are still missing in waters off Oman and in the Strait of Hormuz.
Migrant workers on the front line
Migrant workers account for almost half of the workforce in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – and make up the majority of the population in several of them. They are also present in large numbers in Jordan, Lebanon, Iran and Israel, according to the Coalition on Labor Justice for Migrants in the Gulf.
Many work under the restrictive kafala or sponsorship system, which ties them to employers and often limits their ability to leave or even have their own passport. While Saudi Arabia has introduced reforms under its Vision 2030 program, similar systems are still in place elsewhere.
“This systemic lack of mobility further traps migrant workers in conflict zones and restricts their movement,” the Migrant Workers Coalition said, warning that employers could withhold wages, deny leave or fire workers without compensation during the crisis, cutting off vital remittances to families across Asia and Africa.
Since the war began, several Gulf countries have imposed remote work and school closures as they grapple with Iranian retaliatory strikes. However, migrant workers are far more likely to remain exposed and continue jobs that require physical presence.
The coalition also says migrant workers are often excluded from emergency evacuation plans and denied access to shelters.
Read more: Gold prices fall sharply in global, local markets ahead of Eid
Eid without celebration
In Ganz, a small coastal village in Gwadar, the atmosphere is subdued as the family of 17-year-old Mohammad Tayyab struggles to process his death.
Tayyab, the youngest of four brothers, had dropped out of school after his father’s death to help support the family by smuggling cheaper Iranian gasoline into Pakistan.
On March 7, as he returned home by boat with an aide, debris from an intercepted projectile hit their vessel in the Arabian Sea.
“I was about to break my fast when I received the news that Tayyab’s boat was hit. The news dropped like a bomb,” said his maternal uncle Asghar Hussain Anatolia.
Since the start of the war, Pakistan has closed its border with Iran, cutting off the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen and informal traders along Balochistan’s coast.
“We, especially Tayyab’s mother, are still struggling to overcome this shock. There will be no celebrations this Eid, just mourning,” said Hussain.
Kilometers away, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, 70-year-old Nadir Ali mourns his son, Murib Zaman, who died when debris from an intercepted missile hit the building where he lived in Abu Dhabi.
Zaman, 48, had been working as a driver in the UAE for almost eight years. He was a father of five and had recently discussed Eid preparations with his family.
“He kept asking me about Eid preparations, especially about clothes and shoes for his daughters and son,” Nadir said. “Don’t worry about the money,” he recalled his son telling him.
“The children were his life. Every time he called, he first asked about their health, education and well-being,” he said, fighting back tears.
“I don’t know what Eid would be without him.”
Mehran Rashid, Zaman’s future son-in-law, said he had spoken to him days before his death.
“He reminded me to take the kids shopping before Eid and to the park on Eid day,” Rashid said.
Now, he added, the children refuse to celebrate.
“They don’t want new clothes or anything. They just see pictures of their dad several times a day.”
