Two years ago, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presented a bleak picture of the country’s declining economy, lamenting that even friendly countries had begun to view Pakistan as one that was always begging for money. “Today, when we go to a friendly country or make a phone call, they think we have come to ask for money,” he said.
While the government of Pakistan surrounds the begging bowl, begging has become an industry in the country. Not only do they have organized begging businesses in big cities as well as small towns but they also export beggars to other countries.
Pakistani media have reported that the government recently decided to block the passports of more than 2,000 beggars for seven years. The government will also block the passports of agents who send beggars to foreign countries. The government says it is trying to curb the overseas begging business because it has damaged its reputation in other countries. Pakistani beggars do their trade mainly in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq.
What Pakistan’s parliamentary probe revealed
The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was informed last year that many beggars from Pakistan were moving abroad, leading to “human trafficking”, reported Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
Foreign Ministry Secretary Zulfikar Haider made the disclosure during a discussion at a Senate panel on the issue of skilled and unskilled labor leaving the country. In a startling revelation, Haider told the committee that “90 percent of beggars” arrested in foreign countries are from Pakistan. He explained that many beggars use pilgrim visas to travel to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq. During the discussion, Haider also noted that Japan has emerged as a new destination for these visitors. Many Pakistani beggars operating in the wealthy Gulf states can bring in a lot of foreign exchange, which is needed at a time when the economy is often teetering on the brink. insolvent. This may explain why the Pakistani government has been so slow to push this business. “Iraq and Saudi Arabia constantly complain that we send criminals to their countries, and their jails are overcrowded with Pakistani beggars. This is a serious problem of human trafficking,” Secretary Haider said.
An official from the Interior Ministry said the ministry had removed 44,000 people in the past two and a half years. However, Foreign Ministry officials suggested that checks and balances should be implemented for passport issuance, and that the ministry should increase individual checks before issuing passports.
Begging business in Pakistan
Begging is a big organized business in Pakistan as well. Lack of employment and high inflation have left many poor people begging. In a country of more than 230 million people, there are 38 million beggars, with the average daily amount collected by beggars estimated at Rs 2,000 in Karachi, Rs 1,400 in Lahore, and Rs 950 in Islamabad, Dawn has reported two. last month. The national average amount per beggar is Rs 850, Every year, beggars spend $42 billion dollars, which is more than 12% of Pakistan’s GDP.
There are more than 130,000 beggars in Karachi and 300,000 beggars come from other cities every year before Ramadan, The Pakistan Tribune reported last year.
The business is so competitive that there are often turf wars between beggars for profit. In April, a Karachi court rejected an application filed by a beggar, seeking a direction for registration of an FIR against four other beggars. The petitioner asked the court to register a case against the accused who harassed him with a gun and threatened him to vacate the begging spot near the bus stop. Police investigation revealed that both parties have filed complaints against each other in a long turf war for lucrative space. The court rejected the application, saying it could not make a decision involving an illegal claim to adjudicate a “territorial turf war”.
The business of begging is as old as Pakistan’s economic problems. A survey conducted on beggars in Karachi in 2010 for the National Council of Social Welfare showed that 58% of beggars interviewed refused to accept alternative jobs. Twenty-four percent of them are skilled in carpentry, shoemaking, sewing, etc. The number of men between the ages of 20 and 40 is quite high.
The government has long struggled to eliminate beggars and there have been calls for a social boycott of beggars. Police action against beggars did not produce the desired results. In 2011, hundreds of beggars clashed with police officials in Faisalabad and threw stones and bricks at the police station. “They cannot just surround us like we are criminals,” a beggar told The Express Tribune. “Since when is begging a crime in Pakistan? We will stop begging when the government stops begging from the IMF and other foreign countries.