Pakistan to criminalise begging after complaints from foreign countries

Pakistan government has decided to criminalise begging following multiple complaints from foreign countries as thousands of its nationals residing abroad have been caught in illegal activities and begging. This has resulted in a major global embarrassment and visa bans for travellers from the country. The Country’s Interior Ministry decided to propose the addition of the term “organised begging” to Section 3 of the ‘Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (Amendment) Bill 2024’.
Islamabad has received multiple complaints from foreign countries – especially members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iraq and Malaysia – about the increasing cases of Pakistani nationals caught begging in their respective countries. Thousands of Pakistanis who visit these countries for Haj, Umrah, and other religious pilgrimages have been found involved in begging and other criminal activities. The proposed draft amendment bill also highlights the same issue and maintains that the matter needs to be ingested into a law.In November 2024, the government went on to put the names of 4,300 beggars on the Exit Control List (ECL).
The Pakistani government has been forced to take the issue seriously after thousands of its citizens have been caught begging in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government had called on Pakistan to not send beggars, sick people or people without skills to the country.Hundreds of Pakistanis have been deported in recent weeks from gulf countries due to issues ranging from irregularities in documentation, failure to insufficient travel funds, procedural shortcomings, involvement in crimes, begging etc.This development follows earlier revelations that Pakistani beggars are increasingly traveling abroad under the guise of pilgrimage. In September 2023, it was reported that many of these individuals use Umrah visas to enter Saudi Arabia and then engage in begging. According to the ministry, 90 percent of those arrested for begging in Saudi Arabia were Pakistani.