The interior ministry says Pakistan narrowly escaped a complete ban on its passports from the UAE and Saudi Arabia
Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri chairs a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights in Islamabad on Thursday, November 27, 2025. Photo: Senate of Pakistan/X
The UAE is processing nearly 500 visas a day for Pakistani nationals under new facilitation reforms, even as Pakistan’s interior ministry warned the Senate that the Emirates had stopped issuing visas – except to diplomatic and blue passport holders.
The ministry highlighted growing concerns over passport abuse, people-trafficking and the vulnerabilities faced by overseas Pakistanis, while the UAE ambassador presented a more optimistic picture of ongoing travel and visa support.
The revelation came during a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, where the interior ministry said the UAE has stopped issuing visas to Pakistani nationals – except for diplomatic and blue passport holders.
Additional interior minister Salman Chaudhry warned the committee that Pakistan had narrowly escaped a complete ban on its passports from the UAE and Saudi Arabia – a move he said would have been “extremely difficult” to reverse.
Chaudhry briefed the committee, chaired by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, on the scale of challenges abroad and reported that 21,647 Pakistanis are currently imprisoned across 61 countries, mostly for minor offenses such as visa, identity fraud and banking-related violations.
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He also highlighted that 93 percent of Pakistan’s overseas workforce – nearly 800,000 people – are employed in the Gulf states, underscoring the economic effort associated with regional labor mobility.
A significant portion of the briefing focused on human trafficking networks operating from several districts in Punjab. These networks reportedly charge young people between Rs4.3 million and Rs5 million to send them abroad through illegal and dangerous routes.
Senator Zehri expressed serious concern over the increase in human trafficking cases and criticized the near absence of awareness campaigns at airports and in major cities.
Additional interior minister further revealed that more than 500,000 Afghan nationals had been living abroad with Pakistani passports, some of whom were involved in criminal activities while posing as Pakistanis. He said that NADRA had now fully digitized its citizen database to prevent further misuse.
The committee called for stronger enforcement, improved public awareness and coordinated action to address the layered risks faced by Pakistan’s migrant workers and the integrity of its identity documents.
But contrary to the ministry’s briefing, the newly appointed UAE ambassador to Pakistan said the Emirates was processing “almost 500 visas daily” for Pakistani nationals under new relief reforms.
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He shared the update during a meeting in Islamabad with Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, where both officials reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening strategic and economic ties.
Senator Aurangzeb welcomed the UAE’s continued support and noted its contribution across trade, investment, remittances, government-to-government financing and assistance in Pakistan’s engagement with international financial institutions.
He said the frequency of high-level exchanges “reflects the tightness of our ties,” adding that Pakistan is now focused on expanding trade and attracting long-term investment rather than relying on traditional support mechanisms.
The minister highlighted Emirati investments in ports, digital banking, logistics and infrastructure and called for further participation from UAE sovereign wealth funds, private companies and multinational firms.
He briefed the ambassador on improving macroeconomic indicators, including stable reserves, easing inflation, stronger foreign exchange outlook and increasing remittances – particularly from the UAE – and said Pakistan was pursuing “a growth-focused agenda centered on private sector-led and investment-led expansion.”
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Ambassador Al Zaabi acknowledged the historic relationship between the two countries and the long-standing contributions of Pakistani professionals in the Emirates. Strengthening ties “in strategic, economic and cultural dimensions” would remain a priority during his tenure, he said.
He reaffirmed the UAE’s interest in expanding bilateral trade, attracting Pakistani technology companies to the Emirates and facilitating greater Emirati investment in Pakistan. He noted active engagement with companies across agriculture, infrastructure, mining, ports, financial services and virtual assets.
On visa facilitation, the ambassador said the UAE was now “processing nearly 500 visas daily,” adding that online applications, e-visa without passport stamping and new system-to-system integrations with Pakistan were being rolled out to facilitate travel. He said the new visa center in Pakistan would help speed up processing.
Senator Aurangzeb welcomed the update and noted that smoother mobility is essential to increase business-to-business exchanges, especially as the UAE remains a global hub for investment, trade fairs and technology exhibitions.
The discussion also included ongoing defense cooperation, training exchanges and long-term military cooperation. Both sides reaffirmed their determination to deepen cooperation across trade, investment, finance, technology, defense and people-to-people ties, and agreed to work closely together to unleash the “enormous potential” of the bilateral relationship.
