Pakistan

39,000 Pakistanis deported from Saudi Arabia in four months

Deportations were said to be made after rules of residence, work were violated

Web Desk February 21, 2017

Deportations were said to be made after rules of residence, work were violated. PHOTO: AFP

RIYADH: At least 39,000 Pakistanis have been deported from the Kingdom in the past four months, according to a Saudi Gazette report published on Tuesday.

The Saudi newspaper, quoting informed security sources, claimed that the deportations were made after “the rules of residence and work” were violated by the deported Pakistanis.

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The report said that the alleged involvement of a number of Pakistani nationals in “some terrorist actions” orchestrated by Islamic State (IS) and crimes of drug trafficking, thefts, forgery and physical assault resulted in detailed scrutiny of Pakistanis willing to work in the Kingdom.

Abdullah Al Sadoun, Chairman Security Committee of the Shura Council, asked for thoroughly scrutinising the Pakistanis before they are recruited for work in the Kingdom, said the report.

The Saudi official also sought closer coordination with the concerned authorities in Pakistan to check its nationals coming to work in the Kingdom.

The political and religious inclinations of those coming to work in the Kingdom from Pakistan should be known to both sides before they are recruited, said Al Sadoun.

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“Pakistan itself is plagued with terrorism due to its close proximity with Afghanistan. The Taliban extremist movement was itself born in Pakistan,” the Saudi official said in the Saudi Gazette report.

According to Saudi Interior Ministry, some 82 Pakistani were currently being held in intelligence prisons on charges related to terror and security.

“As many as 15 Pakistanis, including a woman, were nabbed following the recent terrorist operations in Al Harazat and Al Naseem districts in Jeddah” it added.

The ministry also mentioned that the foiled suicide bombing attack in the car park of Dr Soliman Fakeeh Hospital near the US consulate, in Jeddah, was also conducted by a Pakistani bomber.

The security forces also foiled a terror bid in which two Pakistanis, a Syrian and a Sudanese were held for trying to explode Al Jawhara Stadium in Jeddah where over 60,000 spectators had gathered for a soccer match between the teams of KSA and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it added in the report.

This story originally appeared on the Saudi Gazette.

COMMENTS (6)

Agnostic | 7 years ago | Reply Most of the terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia were Pakistanis. The Saudis prefer Indian and Bangladeshi workers. Pakistanis carry a lot of baggage and are unpredictable.

OhNo | 7 years ago | Reply That's about 120,000 upset unemployed Pakistanis arriving on your doorstep every year - what was once a source of income now becomes a drain on the economy. These days it's fashionable to bash the Saudis and the Americans ... but despite the rhetoric about CPEC they remain the backbone of the Pakistan economy. Has anyone ever written an article outlining the consequences of an embargo embraced by both the American's and the Arabs? Suspect some would crap their pants.