Illegal immigration: Here’s how many Pakistanis were deported in last 3 years

ISLAMABAD – The Interior Ministry told the Upper chamber of the Parliament that a total of 154,205 Pakistani nationals faced deportation across various countries between 2021, 2022, and 2023 due to illegal entry.

The Interior Ministry answered a question asked by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F) Senator Kamran Murtaza during the Senate’s question session on Tuesday, revealing that 58,758 Pakistanis were deported in 2021, followed by 51,869 in 2022, and 43, 578 in 2023.

Moreover, the ministry’s response revealed that in 2021, 39,201 were deported by air and 19,557 by land, 46,193 by air and 5,676 by land in 2022, and 37,487 by air and 6,091 by land in 2023.

Furthermore, 19 European countries deported 17,773 Pakistanis during 2021-2023(1,270 in 2021, 12,837 in 2022, and 3,666 in 2023).

As far as the statistics for those leaving Pakistan are concerned, 625, 000 Pakistanis went abroad in 2019, 225, 000 in 2020, 288, 000 in 2021, 765, 000 in 2022, and 450, 110 in the first half of 2023 for overseas employment, a trend showing the economic woes faced by the citizens.

Deportation is a common and essential practice for countries to manage immigration and enforce their borders. As of now, over 340,000 illegal migrants have been deported from Pakistan since the implementation of the policy against undocumented immigrants that was announced in October by then-caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti.