Home Office says Pakistan narrowly escaped a total ban on its UAE and Saudi Arabia passports
Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri chairs a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights in Islamabad on Thursday, November 27, 2025. Photo: Pakistan Senate/X
The United Arab Emirates is processing nearly 500 visas daily for Pakistani citizens under new facilitation reforms, even as Pakistan’s Interior Ministry warned the Senate that the Emirates had stopped issuing visas except for diplomatic and blue passport holders.
The ministry highlighted growing concerns over passport misuse, human trafficking and the vulnerabilities faced by Pakistanis abroad, while the UAE ambassador presented a more optimistic picture on continued travel and visa support.
The revelation came during a briefing before the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, where the Ministry of Interior said that the UAE has stopped issuing visas to Pakistani citizens, except holders of diplomatic and blue passports.
Additional Home Secretary Salman Chaudhry warned the committee that Pakistan had narrowly escaped a complete ban on its passports from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, a move he said would have been “extremely difficult” to reverse.
Chaudhry briefed the committee, chaired by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, on the magnitude of the challenges abroad, reporting that 21,647 Pakistanis are currently imprisoned in 61 countries, mostly for minor offenses such as expired visas, identity fraud and bank-related violations.
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He also highlighted that 93 percent of Pakistan’s overseas workforce (nearly 800,000 people) is employed in the Gulf states, underscoring the economic risks linked to regional labor mobility.
A major part of the briefing focused on human trafficking networks operating from multiple districts of Punjab. These networks reportedly charge youths between Rs 4.3 and Rs 5 million for sending them abroad through illegal and dangerous routes.
Senator Zehri expressed serious concern about the increase in trafficking cases and criticized the almost absence of awareness campaigns at airports and in major cities.
Another Home Secretary further revealed that more than 500,000 Afghan nationals had lived abroad using Pakistani passports, and some were involved in criminal activities posing as Pakistanis. He said NADRA had now fully digitized its citizen database to prevent further misuse.
The committee called for stricter enforcement, greater public awareness and coordinated measures to address the layered risks faced by Pakistani migrant workers and the integrity of their identity documents.
However, in contrast to the ministry’s information, the newly appointed UAE ambassador to Pakistan said the Emirates was processing “almost 500 visas daily” for Pakistani citizens under new facilitation reforms.
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He shared the update during a meeting in Islamabad with Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, where both officials reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening strategic and economic ties.
Senator Aurangzeb welcomed the UAE’s continued support and highlighted its contributions in trade, investment, remittances, government-to-government financing and assistance in Pakistan’s engagement with international financial institutions.
He said the frequency of high-level exchanges “reflects the closeness of our ties”, adding that Pakistan is now focused on expanding trade and attracting long-term investment rather than relying on traditional support mechanisms.
The minister highlighted Emirati investment in ports, digital banking, logistics and infrastructure, and encouraged greater participation from UAE sovereign wealth funds, private companies and multinational firms.
He briefed the ambassador on improving macroeconomic indicators, including stable reserves, lower inflation, stronger monetary outlook and rising remittances, particularly from the UAE, and said Pakistan was pursuing “a growth-focused agenda focused on private sector and investment-led expansion.”
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Ambassador Al Zaabi acknowledged the historical relationship between the two countries and the long-standing contributions of Pakistani professionals in the Emirates. Strengthening ties “in the strategic, economic and cultural dimensions” will continue to be a priority during his mandate, he said.
He reaffirmed the UAE’s interest in expanding bilateral trade, attracting Pakistani technology companies to the Emirates and facilitating greater Emirati investment in Pakistan. He highlighted the active commitment to companies in agriculture, infrastructure, mining, ports, financial services and virtual assets.
On visa facilitation, the ambassador said the UAE was now “processing almost 500 visas daily”, adding that online applications, e-visas without passport stamping and new system-to-system integrations with Pakistan were being implemented to facilitate travel. He said the new visa center in Pakistan would help speed up processing.
Senator Aurangzeb welcomed the update, noting that smoother mobility is essential to boost business-to-business exchanges, especially as the UAE remains a global hub for investments, trade fairs and technology exhibitions.
The discussion also covered defense cooperation, training exchanges and long-standing military collaboration. Both sides reaffirmed their determination to deepen cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, finance, technology, defense and people-to-people ties, and agreed to work closely to unlock the “immense potential” of the bilateral relationship.
