Defence minister also says begging racket is providing \u201cmost employment\u201d across the country
\n Islamabad
\nDefence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday lamented that Gulf nations had imposed visa restrictions for Pakistanis due to the menace of beggary.
\nTaking to X, the security czar posted a video of noted social worker Zafar Abbas, wherein he can be seen interviewing a child in Karachi\u2019s Shah Faisal area, who begs to make ends meet.
\nThe child, while talking to Abbas, made startling revelations that he, along with his two brothers, makes around Rs10,000 to Rs12,000 weekly, and recently they have bought a house. Captioning the video, Asif regretted that begging has turned into a fully organised profession, with established contractors running the network and earning millions of rupees by recruiting children, women and people posing as disabled.
\nThe minister said the same organised groups were sending thousands of beggars to Gulf countries, adding that the host countries, after becoming fed up with the situation, were compelled to restrict or close visas for Pakistanis.
\nHe added that officials of various government departments deployed at airports were equal partners in this \u201cdisgraceful business\u201d and were financially benefiting from the illegal activity.
\nReferring to Sialkot, he said many of these beggars mostly arrive from South Punjab, stay in hotels and operate organised begging operations in the city. He said recent action by the district administration and police had reduced the scale of the activity, but their presence could still be seen.
\nThe defence minister said that in Sialkot, the contractors running these networks appear to be financially well-off individuals. He added that whenever crackdowns are launched against beggars, these contractors approach authorities as their recommenders and try to secure relief for them.
\nHe further remarked that this business is providing what he termed the \u201clargest employment\u201d in the country, and stressed that such a network cannot operate in any city without the patronage of the local administration and police.
\nThe minister also warned that several other highly immoral and criminal activities are linked with the organised begging trade, making it a serious social and law-enforcement challenge for the country.
\nThe statement follows media reports alleging that the UAE proposed a visa ban on Pakistanis, citing an increase in nationals involved in begging.
\nHowever, Consulate General of the UAE Karachi Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi denied such, terming it as \u201cfake news\u201d. Speaking to Geo News, Remeithi said that no such ban has been imposed by the UAE government.
\nLast year in December, Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Riffat Mukhtar told the National Assembly\u2019s Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development that 56,000 Pakistanis involved in organised begging were deported from Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Defence minister also says begging racket is providing \u201cmost employment\u201d across the country Islamabad Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday lamented that Gulf nations had imposed visa restrictions for Pakistanis due to the menace of beggary. Taking to X, the security czar posted a video of noted social worker Zafar Abbas, wherein he can be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-530425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n