‘Absolutely fine’: Talal Chaudhry rubbishes speculation of rift in Pak-UAE ties

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said on Thursday that ties between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates were “absolutely fine" and rubbished speculation over a rift in ties.

He made this statement during a session of the National Assembly (NA) while responding to the concerns of the parliamentarians over the alleged deportation of Pakistanis from the Middle Eastern country.

The issue first surfaced last month when some social media accounts claimed that around 1,200 Pakistanis had been deported from the UAE over visa-related issues and alleged legal violations in the aftermath of the regional crisis that erupted after the US-Iran war. A report published by The New York Times claimed that the UAE had initiated a large-scale expulsion of Pakistani workers.

The report said it interviewed 20 Pakistani Shias, including eight businessmen based in the Emirates, who alleged that their Pakistani employees had been deported in recent weeks. According to the report, the deportations came amid "perceived Emirati displeasure over Pakistan’s response to Iranian strikes" on the Gulf state while Islamabad was attempting to broker a peace agreement between the US and Iran. The Ministry of Interior had dismissed the reports as "mala fide" and part of a "vicious propaganda" campaign.

Chaudhry warned against “building false narratives against friendly countries”, while dismissing claims that UAE deportations were based on sectarian grounds.

“The government has categorically denied these rumours,” he stressed.

Addressing the floor, the minister highlighted that the highest amount of remittances was received from overseas Pakistanis residing in Saudi Arabia, followed by the UAE.

“Currently, 1.7 million Pakistanis reside in the UAE ‘legally’,” he said, adding that these people contributed to the uplift of both the host country and Pakistan.

“We should not draw premature conclusions regarding countries as it can negatively impact our future ties.”

Furthermore, the minister assured that the government would protect all citizens and address their complaints regardless of their “religion and ethnicity”.

Throwing light on the good ties between Pakistan and the UAE, the interior minister said, “Official and diplomatic passport holders are now being granted entry under new arrangements, a facility which was not available earlier.”

Passport ranking and visa facilitation

Reflecting on the government’s performance, Chaudhry said, “Pakistan’s passport ranking and international travel facilitation have improved in the current period.”

He asked the lawmakers to compare the current and previous tenures in terms of results, claiming that “several visa facilitation agreements” had been signed with a host of countries, including arrangements for diplomatic and official passport holders.

“Progress has also been made on visa-free entry arrangements,” he claimed.

Terrorism

Commenting on the recent onslaught of terrorism, the interior minister said that the “fight against it” was being carried out by both provincial and federal governments.

He urged the parliamentarians to review the government’s performance against the ground realities to assess the situation justly.

Chaudhry also called on the lawmakers for a thorough parliamentary debate on the implementation of the National Action Plan.

“All stakeholders had agreed on it,” he stated while requesting the floor to point out shortcomings in the implementation, "if any".

He asked the members to also dedicate a session to evaluate the plan’s execution and effectiveness in countering terrorism.