Over the years, not just 2024

Pakistani minister says 50,000 missing Pakistani are overstayed job seekers

2024-07-28 | 17:59

NEWSROOM– Pakistani Minister for Religious Affairs, Salik Hussain, said on Sunday that the 50,000 missing Pakistanis in Iraq are job seekers and that his remarks were “taken out of context”. He aslo added that the number refers to past years not just this year.

In a bullet-point tweet on X, the pakistani minister stated that

The statement was taken out of context and was used to insult Pakistan.

This number – 50 thousand – is for past years, not just this year.

These did not disappear; Rather, they failed to return, and are not affiliated with any party or organization.

These people went through entities and companies for the purpose of working legally, but what happened was that these companies did not fulfill their obligations, but rather left them to the unknown in Iraq.

We called for the legalization of their presence in Iraq and the modification of their status in line with Iraqi law.

We will meet with the Iraqi Minister of Labor and sign a memorandum of understanding in this regard

After the Pakistani minister’s statement went viral, it was initially seen by many that these huge number came to Iraq during Muharram this year.

Millions of foreign pilgrims visit Iraq annually, primarily for Shia Muslim religious festivals like Arbaeen and Ashura. Pakistan’s Shia community is among the regular participants in this pilgrimage.

Ashura is an important religious observance for Shia Muslims, commemorating the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala.

In a previous tweet Minister Hussain explained that he recently met with Iraq’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Hamid Abbas Lafta, who informed him about the 50,000 Pakistani visitors who did not return home and stayed in Iraq to seek livelhood. Hussain emphasized Pakistan’s commitment to ensuring that these individuals are “treated according to the law” and that their stay and work in Iraq comply with legal standards.

Previously, the Iraq’s Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Ahmed Al-Asadi, expressed his concern over the increasing number of illegal workers in the country, “The recent news indicating the influx of about 50,000 Pakistani nationals working illegally in Iraq will be a point of concern for us and will be investigated to take appropriate legal actions.”

The Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a clarification on Sunday saying that there was a “misunderstanding of the information and that the claims of 50,000 missing Pakistanis are untrue.” This comes after the ministry’s communications with Pakistan, represented by Pakistan’s Minister of Religious Affairs, Chaudhry Salik Hussain.