$50M needed to return 50,000 Pakistani immigrants from Iraq
Shafaq News / On Saturday, former Iraqi Transport Minister and current Member of Parliament, Amer Abdul Jabbar Ismail, estimated that returning 50,000 Pakistani illegal immigrants from Iraq would cost about $50 million.
"There are 50,000 Pakistani illegal immigrants, but security forces have only arrested 31. Should we wait four years to arrest all of them?" Ismail wrote on X.
"Returning each illegal immigrant costs $1,000, totaling about $50 million," he added.
Last Friday, Iraqi police reported arresting 33 Pakistanis without entry permits inside the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Kilani in the center of Baghdad.
Pakistani Minister for Religious Affairs, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, recently announced that approximately 50,000 Pakistanis have gone missing in Iraq during visits for the month of Muharram, without specifying the exact period of their disappearance.
"These individuals didn't disappear but didn't return. They are not affiliated with any party or organization and went to Iraq solely for work through entities and companies," he posted on X, adding, "We will meet with the Iraqi Minister of Labor to sign a memorandum of understanding."
Earlier, the Labor Minister underscored the importance of cooperation among relevant authorities to ensure the enforcement of labor laws and regulations for all foreign workers entering the country.
He further affirmed that "Iraq welcomes all tourists, whether for religious tourism or otherwise, from all over the world, but stresses the need to respect local laws and regulations."
