The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development has refuted allegations of 40,000 missing Pakistani pilgrims in Iraq, labeling the reports as fictitious.
In a session led by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada on Tuesday, the committee reviewed statements from Senator Raja Nasir Abbas, who had earlier addressed the issue with Iraqi officials. Senator Abbas confirmed discussions with Iraq’s Prime Minister and Pakistan’s Minister of Religious Affairs, both of whom dismissed the claims as erroneous.
The Ministry of Interior reported that only 27 Pakistanis were detained in Iraq, with 30 individuals still facing legal proceedings out of the 81 initially arrested. Senator Abbas criticized the mistreatment of Pakistani citizens overseas, particularly the confiscation of passports at airports in certain nations, including Iraq. He urged the government to address this injustice, highlighting that even Afghan nationals do not face such indignities. Ministry representatives pledged to escalate the matter to higher authorities.
Updates were provided on the status of 21,647 imprisoned Pakistanis worldwide, with over 13,000 awaiting trial and more than 8,000 convicted. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has initiated an inter-ministerial committee on prisoners to enhance collaboration, involving ambassadors and pertinent officials. This effort plans to engage with Gulf states first, followed by Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, the UK, and EU countries. Despite recent efforts, senators noted that prison visits by Community Welfare Attachés were long overdue.
Chairman Khanzada instructed the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis to present a comprehensive report on the financial resources allocated for legal and welfare assistance to imprisoned Pakistanis in the subsequent meeting.
In terms of migration, officials disclosed that there are 294 legitimate pathways for Pakistanis to enter the EU, with an emphasis on student visas. Alarmingly, nearly 50% of Pakistanis heading to Italy use illegal routes, sometimes paying as much as Rs 7 million to smugglers.
The committee also assessed the progress on a collaboration with Allama Iqbal Open University to provide an online Russian language course for visa applicants to Belarus. Senator Shahadat Awan requested statistics on Pakistanis convicted abroad for smuggling, noting that drug-related offenses account for 65% of cases, and sought information on special courts established for overseas Pakistanis.
New PTI Senator Faisal Javed participated in the discussion, urging the committee to prioritize human resource development both domestically and internationally in upcoming sessions.
The meeting was attended by Senators Shahadat Awan, Zamir Hussain Ghumro, Gurdeep Singh, Nasir Mehmood, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi, Raja Nasir Abbas, Khalida Ateeb, Atta Ul Haq, and Faisal Javed, along with senior officials from pertinent ministries.