Ministry claims only 3,349 Pakistanis repatriated from KSA

Says 2,965 of these workers provided assistance by Overseas Pakistanis Foundation

ISLAMABAD: Contrary to what has been reported in the media, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis has told the National Assembly that only 3,349 Pakistani workers have been repatriated from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) since October last year.

“So far 3,349 Pakistan workers from Saudi Arabia have arrived in Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore,” the ministry said in response to the question from a lawmaker on Thursday.



“Of these workers, 2,965 have been provided assistance by the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) for travel to their destinations from the airport and Rs10 million approximately has been paid [to them] so far,” it added.

It said these Pakistanis were deported due to visa violations, security concerns, crimes and ‘other issues’. The figure provided by the ministry is many times lower than that quoted in media reports.

Earlier this year, the media had reported that Saudi Arabia expelled nearly 39,000 Pakistani migrant workers in four consecutive months due to various reasons. On February 16, the Foreign Office, however, claimed that the figure reported in the media was exaggerated.

While the exact number of Pakistanis repatriated from the kingdom cannot be confirmed, it is a fact that the Saudi economy has been severely affected during the last three and a half years due to massive reduction in oil prices and the kingdom’s ongoing military campaign in Yemen.



The ministry submitted the reply in response to a query by Jamaat-e-Islami’s MNA Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub, who had asked for details of schemes launched to address the problems of the overseas Pakistanis since January 1, 2016.

Responding to the question, the ministry -- besides highlighting other measures -- stated that 3,349 Pakistani workers had arrived from Saudi Arabia, 2,965 of whom had been given assistance by the OPF.

As many as 13,777 illegal Pakistani immigrants were also deported from various European countries over the past four years, according to the figures submitted by the interior ministry to the National Assembly in January this year.

The ministry said provision of financial assistance of respectively Rs400,000 and Rs300,000 in cases of death and disability was among other initiatives taken by the ministry for the overseas Pakistanis.



“[As many as] 1,865 destitute families of overseas Pakistanis were granted financial assistance – in case of death or disability concerning their relatives working abroad – amounting to Rs690.850 million,” the answer said.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are still the leading providers of employment to Pakistanis. Last year, parliament was informed that a total of 947,718 workers landed jobs abroad out of which a little more than half, or 522,932, secured jobs in Saudi Arabia.