Each year, a large number of Pakistanis enter Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas but overstay their visa dates
GUJRANWALA: Each year, a large number of Pakistanis enter Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas but overstay their visa dates. They find jobs and stay as long as they can avoid arrest. However, Pakistani doctors, engineers, bankers, lecturers, IT professionals and others also work in Saudi Arabia. Out of these Pakistanis, 84 per cent are originally employed while 16 per cent are independents. Recently, 7,000 Pakistani workers became unemployed due to financial problems of their companies.
When their true identities are revealed before others, they are sent to different prisons. The ministry maintained that a total of 7,662 Pakistanis have been arrested in Saudi Arabia on various charges since January 2013. Teams of the consulate visited jails and deportation centres to issue emergency documents to 50,757 Pakistanis in 2015 and 33,198 Pakistanis in 2016 to facilitate their deportation to Pakistan. There is a hope that on December 18, which is the national day for Qatar, pardon will be given to Pakistanis. It is a request to the authorities that they should do something for the deportation of Pakistanis and, at the same time, take strict measures against invalid visas.
Ahmad Hassan Virk
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2016.
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