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A very shocking and big news is coming out from the Gulf country United Arab Emirates (UAE). Thousands of Pakistani Shia Muslims, who have been living in UAE for years and contributing to the economy there, are suddenly being deported from the country. The situation has become so bad that these people who have been working and doing business there for years are not being given a chance to pack their belongings and even withdraw their life’s hard earned money (savings) from the bank. This big ‘expulsion’, which started suddenly amidst the ongoing Iran war in the Middle East, has created a stir within Pakistan and at the global level. Seeing the seriousness of the matter, the international human rights organization ‘Human Rights Watch’ (HRW) has also started investigating these very ‘worrying’ reports.

Why did this action suddenly start amidst the tension of war?

According to an investigative report by global news agency Reuters, this strict action against Pakistani citizens has intensified mainly since February 28. This was the same time when America and Israel launched major air strikes on Iran. In response, Iran also fired missiles and drones towards UAE, after which the security tension in the entire Gulf region reached its peak. Shia leaders of Pakistan directly allege that under the cover of this war, the UAE administration has started targeting their community and has accelerated the process of deportation.

More than 7500 Pakistani Shias were deported

According to a recent database prepared by Pakistani Shia political organization ‘Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen’, more than 7,500 Pakistani Shia Muslims have been forcibly deported from the UAE since February 28. The organization’s chief spokesperson Mohsin Abidi claims that the actual figure on the ground could be much higher because many cases have not been officially registered. At the same time, a local community leader from Kurram district, a Shia-dominated area of ​​Pakistan, said that since the start of the war, more than 1,500 workers from his area alone have been deported from the UAE back to Pakistan.

During interrogation, the officers asked a direct question – ‘Do you give funds to Iran?’

The ordeal of Pakistani citizens evicted from UAE is extremely horrifying and shocking. Reuters has thoroughly investigated the immigration documents and flight details of 103 such Pakistanis. Of these, 24 people shared a very painful experience and said that they were not even given time to withdraw their salary money or the capital deposited in their bank account.

A 41-year-old victim, a resident of Chakwal, said that after being detained by UAE security agencies, he was interrogated strictly about his salary and remittances to Pakistan. After this the officials directly asked the question – “Do you secretly fund or help Iran?”

The phone was snatched, handcuffed, put in a dark bus and left for the airport.

Another such heart-wrenching case has come to light of a person working in a very prestigious position. A Pakistani citizen, who worked as a senior manager in Dubai Metro for about 16 years, told that one day suddenly the police rounded him up. His phone was snatched away, his hands were handcuffed and after being held in an undisclosed detention center for 9 consecutive days, he was put on a crowded dark bus and taken straight to the airport and deported. This unexpected strictness of UAE has given sleepless nights to millions of other Pakistani expatriates living there.