ISLAMABAD — The
government of Pakistan has finally decided to criminalise begging following
multiple complaints from foreign countries after thousands of Pakistanis abroad
have been caught in illegal activities and begging resulting in a major global
embarrassment and visa bans for travellers from the country.
As part of the move, Pakistan's Interior Ministry on
Thursday decided to propose addition of the term "organised begging"
to the Section 3 of the 'Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (Amendment) Bill
2024'.
Islamabad has received multiple complaints from foreign
countries - especially members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iraq and
Malaysia - about the increasing cases of Pakistani nationals caught begging in
their respective countries.
Pakistan's diplomatic missions have urged a strict action as
thousands of Pakistanis who visit these countries for Haj, Umrah, and other
religious pilgrimages have been found involved in begging and other criminal
activities.
The proposed draft amendment bill also highlights the same
issue and maintains that the matter needs to be ingested into a law.
"The agents and gangs who are involved in this practice
easily dodge prosecution as begging is not a crime in any law entrusted to the
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The sensitivity of the issue demands an
urgent need to make beggary a crime," reads the proposed draft amendment.
"The organised beggary includes an act of a person to
allure, entice or coerce a person intentionally, knowingly, by use of force,
fraud or without fraudulent intention to indulge or to be indulged in
soliciting or receiving alms directly, indirectly or on any pretext," the
bill adds.
The Pakistani government has been forced to take the issue
seriously after thousands of its citizens have been caught begging in Saudi
Arabia. The Saudi government had called on Pakistan to not send beggars, sick
people or people without skills to the country. Pakistan recently put about
4,300 beggars on the no-fly list and assured the Saudi government of strong
action against the culprits.
Hundreds of Pakistani nationals have also been deported from
the Gulf countries in recent times, most of them found involved in begging or
other criminal activities.
On January 15, three beggars were arrested and deported from
Saudi Arabia and taken into custody upon their arrival in Karachi. Another
beggar was also arrested on his return from Umrah for passport forgery.
The government of Pakistan considers the matter in line with
the human trafficking and human smuggling domains, directing officials at the
airports to be vigilant while clearing passengers.
As per the directives, an efficient system of profiling
passengers travelling from Pakistan to other countries including Azerbaijan,
Senegal, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya, Iran, Mauritania,
Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and Kyrgyzstan should be implemented with an immediate
effect.
Strict scrutiny, profiling and monitoring is also being done
for travellers from cities like Gujarat, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Bhimber, Jhelum,
Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad and Sheikhupura.
