Dubai: The United Arab Emirates has detained and deported up to 15,000 Pakistani workers, freezing their bank accounts and stripping them of their life savings, many of them believed to be Shia Muslims, in what community leaders and former lawmakers describe as a large-scale crackdown carried out without formal charges.
According to Mohammad Amin Shaheedi, a senior Shiite cleric and chief of Ummat-e-Wahida Pakistan, many workers were first arrested, had their mobile phones confiscated and were later transferred from detention facilities directly onto deportation flights bound for Pakistan.
“The UAE government has launched what appears to be an organized campaign to deport Shiite individuals from the country,” Shaheedi said.
He estimated that around 5,000 Pakistani Shiite families — roughly 15,000 individuals — had been affected by the expulsions.
“They were reportedly sent back with little more than the clothes on their backs, without being given the opportunity to withdraw their funds from banks or settle their financial affairs,” he added.
Many of those deported had spent decades working in the UAE, where migrant labor and overseas remittances remain a crucial source of income for Pakistani families and a major contributor to Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.
The reported deportations come at a sensitive moment in regional diplomacy. Abu Dhabi recently demanded early repayment of a $3.5 billion financial support package.
Pakistan has been seeking to help reduce tensions and end the conflict involving Iran, but the diplomatic effort appears to have strained ties with one of its closest Gulf allies.
According to a report by The New York Times, relations between Pakistan and the Emirates have deteriorated as Islamabad attempts to mediate between the United States and Iran.
The UAE is reportedly dissatisfied with Pakistan’s response to Iranian attacks on the Emirates. The Gulf state has faced thousands of Iranian missile and drone strikes during the conflict and expected stronger condemnation from Islamabad, according to analysts and political figures.
The UAE authorities have not publicly commented on the allegations or provided details about the detentions and deportations.
