Nine beggars offloaded from Umrah flight

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested nine alleged beggars at Multan International Airport who were all set to travel to Saudi Arabia under the guise of Umrah pilgrims.

There were six men and three women in the group that was arrested. Authorities were able to figure out their intentions as they were unable to produce evidence of hotel reservations or other legitimate purposes for their visit to Saudi Arabia.

As they were subjected to scrutiny, the nine people admitted to engaging in begging activities during their stay in Saudi Arabia.

Subsequently, they were taken into custody by the anti-human trafficking unit for further investigation.

The operation marks the latest in a series of efforts by the FIA to stop begging rings that exploit individuals seeking to perform Umrah in Makkah. Earlier in October, FIA aimed at blacklisting people who malign the name of the country.

Previously, a report was submitted to the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis about a shocking percentage of professional beggars who were arrested in the Middle East, 90 per cent of whom are Pakistanis.