Massive increase in Pakistani asylum seekers in Europe, UK and US

Dubai: More than 135,000 Pakistanis have sought political asylum in Europe and the United States over the past two years, according to new disclosures before the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis.

The committee, chaired by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, was briefed that 125,000 asylum requests were filed in various European countries, while more than 10,000 were submitted in the United States, marking a sharp rise in politically and economically motivated migration.

In response, the Government of Pakistan has initiated aggressive measures to discourage illegal migration and penalise asylum seekers. Authorities have begun cancelling the passports of citizens deported from foreign countries, blocking reissuance, and in many cases, launching criminal proceedings under domestic law.

Global image

This policy was outlined during a recent high-level meeting chaired by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, with senior officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Directorate of Passports, and Ministry of Interior in attendance. The aim, officials said, is to restore Pakistan’s global image, which has been marred by increasing numbers of citizens attempting to enter foreign countries illegally or under false pretenses.

Deportations

The FIA reported that over 52,000 Pakistanis were deported in the past two years alone including 34,000 from Iran. Many of them had attempted to cross Pakistan-Iran borders on foot. Saudi Arabia deported 5,000 Pakistanis for begging, while also slashing work visa quotas and tightening screening criteria for new applicants.

Officials from the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis also noted that some nations have begun bypassing legal procedures, immediately repatriating undocumented Pakistani migrants under the Passport Act rather than detaining them.

Stern action

The Pakistan government’s retaliatory measures have grown increasingly harsh: deported individuals face passport blacklisting, travel bans, and, in some cases, investigations into human trafficking rings they may have been associated with.

The senate committee was told that more than 10.3 million skilled Pakistani workers and professionals continue to live and work overseas, sending critical remittances back home.