ISLAMABAD:
The reported deportation of Pakistani nationals from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sparked a heated debate in the Senate on Thursday as the opposition warned of dire economic consequences of the development.
However, the government disputed the scale of the figures and promised that a verified date would be presented in parliament.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry informed the Senate that there was no evidence to suggest that Pakistanis were specifically targeted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and said the reported deportations were part of administrative actions taken by the UAE authorities.
Responding to an awareness message by Leader of the Opposition Raja Nasir Abbas, Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri and Senator Azam Khan Swati, the Minister said that Pakistan and the UAE shared long-standing brotherly relations and that the Pakistani community comprising over two million people was the second largest foreign community living there.
The case was raised by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, who expressed deep concern over the situation and called for immediate diplomatic engagement with the UAE along with legal assistance to affected Pakistani workers.
Raja Nasir Abbas said around 2,000 people had reportedly been deported from the UAE, adding that their bank accounts and financial assets had been frozen or inaccessible.
He further said that those affected included citizens of Kurram Agency and South Punjab.
He said nearly 164,000 Pakistanis had been deported from the UAE and warned that such large-scale expulsions would directly hurt Pakistan’s economy at a time of high inflation.
He called on the government to immediately open diplomatic talks with the UAE to resolve the issue and provide support to affected citizens.
He further emphasized that the government must take immediate steps to resolve the difficulties faced by deported Pakistanis.
Responding in the House, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the government would present comprehensive and verified figures in Parliament after receiving detailed data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He said that Pakistan and UAE have strong bilateral relations.
He informed the lawmakers that according to available reports, 3,494 people had been deported, adding that Pakistanis with valid visas were legally employed in the UAE.
The minister said that in cases involving illegal stay, Pakistani embassies are informed by the UAE authorities and some deportations were linked to involvement in criminal activities.
He added that economic conditions had also forced some Pakistani workers to lose employment abroad.
Tariq Fazal Chaudhry further said that sometimes things are exaggerated on social media leading to unnecessary public concern.
He also informed the House that according to available information on wider regional developments, four Pakistanis were killed and 27 injured in the Iran-US conflict situation.
