Pakistan Blocks Passports of Over 10,000 Citizens Recently Deported from Iran

The Pakistani government has blocked the passports of over 10,000 Pakistani citizens who have recently been deported from Iran to prevent them from attempting to travel to Europe again. Islamabad media reported on Tuesday, January 1, citing sources from the Pakistani Ministry of Interior, that the government has decided to block the passports of 10,454 citizens who were returned to Pakistan due to illegal border crossing and entry into Iran. The border guards of the Islamic Republic of Iran had handed over these Pakistani citizens, who had entered Iranian territory in the past year, to Pakistani officials in the border city of Taftan. Iran is one of the main transit points for tens of thousands of Pakistanis, mainly young people, who take dangerous and unconventional routes each month in their struggle to reach Europe. This summer, 40 Pakistani citizens died in a capsized boat carrying illegal migrants in waters near Greece. This incident has prompted the government of Mr. Sharif to take new decisions against human traffickers and against the applicants for illegal migration themselves. Due to an increase in armed attacks in the past year in areas that were previously considered normal routes for Pakistani exits, routes that are more dangerous have recently been used more frequently by traffickers and those interested in illegal migration. According to statistics, Iran has detained at least 62,000 Pakistani citizens for illegal entry between 2020 and 2024, most of whom were residents of Punjab. The Islamabad government has recently decided to block the passports of those citizens who, apart from attempting illegal migration to any other country, especially neighboring countries, have been accused or arrested for other crimes. A few days ago, the passports of about 2,500 Pakistanis accused of drug-related crimes or other criminal activities in the United Arab Emirates were blocked. Two months ago, the passports of 4,000 Pakistanis who were arrested in Saudi Arabia for charges such as begging were also blocked by the Islamabad government. Pakistani officials consider the begging of their citizens in wealthy countries in the region to be a source of shame for their country. In a meeting chaired by Shahbaz Sharif and his cabinet members on Monday, January 1, it was also decided that, in addition to passport blocking, heavy fines would be imposed on Pakistani citizens engaged in begging in other countries. According to Pakistani media, the Ministry of Interior under Mr. Sharif plans to block the passports of more than 1,500 Pakistanis who have been expelled from Iraq in the past six months. The blocking of passports is for at least five years or more. No statistics have been provided on the number of Pakistani and Afghan migrants who have lost their lives while trying to reach Europe near the borders with Iran, mainly in the area between Pakistan's Balochistan and Iran's Balochistan. Shahbaz Sharif, who returned to the premiership for the second time in late March last year, continues to face a wave of economic and political challenges in the country. This week's clashes between Pakistan and the Taliban in Khost and Paktia provinces also resulted in the deaths of 19 Pakistani soldiers and the killing of 3 Afghan citizens, but Islamabad and the Taliban government each threatened the other with further attacks. This insecurity has affected the humanitarian situation in border areas and increased the desire for illegal migration in both countries.