During a Senate panel discussion, Overseas Ministry Secretary Zulfikar Haider said that a significant amount of Pakistani beggars are leaving the country, adding to the problem of trained as well as unskilled workers leaving Pakistan. The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was informed about this on Wednesday.
In an unexpected disclosure, Haider told the committee that "90% of beggars" put behind bars in foreign countries were of Pakistani descent.
He explained that many beggars took use of pilgrim visas to visit Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq.
The official further disclosed that a vast majority of pickpockets detained in holy sites such as Haram were Pakistani nationals.
During the meeting, Haider also mentioned that Japan had emerged as a new destination for such travellers.
The senator also informed that approximately three million Pakistanis are in Saudi Arabia, 1.5 million are in the UAE, and 0.2 million are in Qatar.
Haider acknowledged that Bangladesh and India outscored Pakistan in this regard, citing foreign companies` concerns about the capabilities and trustworthiness of Pakistani workers.
Senator Sherry Rehman, on the other hand, noted that Pakistan was seeing a surge of talented mountaineers from Nepal, noting that "Pakistan`s own people generally lacked the same level of expertise in mountain climbing."
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