Saudi Arabia's kingdom civil aviation authority has declared vaccination certificate as compulsory for polio while travelling from Pakistan. General Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia announced the same that violators of these directives would face harsh punishments along with legal consequences.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are two of the last countries that remain polio-endemic. In the country, a disturbing trend of increasing poliovirus cases has been reported. As many as 68 cases of this crippling disease were reported in 2024.
Over the years, questions have been raised over the Pakistan government's continued failure to handle the spread of polio virus in the country, especially in the troubled provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan which have seen rejection of polio vaccination campaigns and even casualties for health workers.
The Saudi government has taken this decision at a time when several Gulf countries have imposed a visa ban on Pakistanis over their involvement in crime, fraud, and begging.
On Wednesday, as many as 51 deported Pakistanis landed in Karachi from seven countries, while 30 passengers were offloaded from international flights at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport on Tuesday night due to issues with their travel documents and other irregularities, officials from the immigration department told Geo News.
Earlier, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had made it mandatory for visa applicants from Pakistan to submit a police character certificate.
Besides Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf nations have imposed an indefinite ban on granting visas to people from at least 30 different cities of Pakistan, following an alarming rise in the number of cases where Pakistani nationals have been caught begging or being involved in smuggling, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other criminal offenses abroad.
Countries and cities of the gulf, specifically Dubai and Abu Dhabi, remain to be the top favorite destinations of millions of travelling Pakistanis as well as for those seeking job opportunities.
After the ban, the already damaged image of a Pakistani passport took a further serious beating as its status remains the worst fourth in the world for the third consecutive year.
It is last month when a popular YouTuber in Pakistan admitted to the problems facing Pakistani travelers from the Gulf nations that have decided to halt issuance of visas for Pakistani nationals.
"Saudi Arabia and Dubai were popular destinations but have now stopped giving visas. I too had to face a great difficulty when I wanted to go for the IIFA Awards. In fact, Saudi Arabia has given a warning to Pakistan with regard to the increasing number of cases of beggars being caught," admitted noted podcaster Nadir Ali in an interview with a businessman who owns a large travel company in Karachi.
Over the course of the last decades, Pakistan has demonstrated unrelenting consistency in sending dubious travelers abroad – who become asylum seekers, illegal drug traffickers, beggars and human traffickers while staying illegally in foreign countries.
"Since last year, we have seen hundreds of instances where labor visas, visit visas and even tourist visas were denied to Pakistanis by the Gulf countries. And the highest numbers of denials are made specifically to those persons who are not from big cities of the country," said Muddasar Mir, Managing Director, Vinci Tours and Travels Islamabad, speaking with IANS.
"There are many reasons behind Gulf countries rejecting Pakistani visa applications. The major one is of beggars and drug smugglers, who have been caught after arriving in the Gulf countries on either visit or job visas. Several Pakistanis have also been caught transporting drugs to the Gulf countries. Recruiting companies, especially those involved in sending labourers to the Gulf countries, are also using fake documents and experience letters. They bribe agencies and manage to get through," he added.
Several companies in the Gulf have complained to their recruiters in Pakistan that the workforce being transported fails to meet even the basic requirements of the specified job descriptions, leading to serious issues.
"Companies in the Gulf do not want to hire any labourer or technician from Pakistan now because they know that the workforce from Pakistan will turn out to be incompetent. They have found a better option to hire people from countries like India, Bangladesh and Indonesia who are easier to manage," says Mir.
Statistics reveal that over 800,000 Pakistanis apply for visas to Gulf and Middle Eastern countries every year in pursuit of work, job opportunities and use their destination as a stepping stone towards travelling to western and European nations.
More than 4000 Pakistani beggars have been arrested in Saudi Arabia, mainly from Mecca and Madina where they were caught begging during Umrah and Haj processions. Many Pakistanis have also been caught carrying illegal drugs and for their involvement in illegal activities.
This has culminated in drastic restrictions and outright bans from various countries on the Pakistani passport as well as from the citizens of the country itself, with rejection of visas to thousands of visitors.
