The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) recently arrested sixteen alleged beggars traveling to Saudi Arabia in the disguise of Umrah pilgrims from Multan airport.

According to a report in Dawn, the 16-strong group offloaded from the Saudi Arabia-bound flight comprised 11 women, 4 men, and a child.

During the immigration process, the passengers confessed to FIA officials that they were traveling to Saudi Arabia with the intention of begging.

Further, the arrested passengers told the officials that they were supposed to give half their earnings earned through begging to the agents who managed the travel arrangements. The passengers were supposed to return to Pakistan once their visas expired. Subsequently, FIA Multan Circle arrested the passengers for legal action.

It is pertinent to mention here that during a recent meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis, officials informed that a growing number of beggars from Pakistan were moving abroad.

During the meeting, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Secretary Zulfikar Haider also informed the committee that 90 percent of beggars arrested in other countries were of Pakistani origin. He further said that many beggars exploited pilgrim visas to travel to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq.

Source: Pro Pakistani