In a cluster of villages in Pakistan’s largely rural Chakwal district, more than 100 Shi’ite Muslims have returned from the United Arab Emirates without jobs, luggage or access to the savings they spent years building abroad.
They are among potentially thousands of Shi’ites deported from the UAE to Pakistan during the Iran war, raising alarm in Pakistan’s Shi’ite community and prompting Human Rights Watch to investigate.
Reuters reviewed immigration documents, visa-status screenshots and flight details for 103 Pakistanis who said they were deported Shi’ites, interviewing 24 of them. Each interviewee said they were unable to retrieve luggage or savings before being placed on flights alongside dozens of other Shi’ite deportees.
A database compiled by the Pakistani Shi’ite political organisation Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, seen by Reuters, lists 7,500 Pakistani Shi’ites deported from the Gulf Arab state since February 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Group spokesperson Mohsin Abidi said the actual number was likely far higher.
Pakistan’s Shi’ites say deportations have accelerated
Leaders of Pakistan’s Shi’ite community say the deportations have accelerated during the war, which has heightened tensions across the Gulf, particularly as Iran responded by launching missile and drone strikes on the UAE.
Reuters could not determine the criteria the UAE authorities used to select the Pakistanis for deportation.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on a list of questions from Reuters about the deportations.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said in a statement the UAE had not deported anyone based on sect, saying any deportations were for violating UAE regulations. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said ”deportation figures remain steady” this year, without providing details.
