 ISLAMABAD: Immigration from Pakistan and deportations of Pakistanis back to their home country has increased in recent years, according to government and UN figures.
| That'd be the ones who think they're back home in Peshawar... |
The general flow of migrants from Pakistan is to developed countries, including the US, UK, Germany, Middle East and East Asia. According to a 2001 census, 321,000 people in Britain were Pakistan-born, up from 234,000 recorded in 1991.
| Most of them are decent people looking to escape the hellhole of Pakiwakiland. But there's a few ... |
Sources at the Pakistan Passport Office said that the number of passport applicants was consistently increasing at a faster rate than previous years, and the regional offices were issuing around 5,000 passports every day. âRegional offices issue an average of 650 passports per day in Rawalpindi alone,â a Passport Office official said.
| "Each of them with a religion column, of course..." |
According to official sources and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dealing with migration and human trafficking, Pakistanis are usually deported for loss or expiry of documents, rejection of asylum, possession of fake documents, being black-listed, commission of a criminal offence and illegal border crossing.
| Not necessarily in that order, of course... |
| Apparently being a jihadi or an expert in grenade tossing doesn't count. |
As many as 104,075 Pakistanis were deported in the last two years. This figure does not include offloading and repatriation of camel jockeys from the Middle East.
| I swear I didn't write that last sentence. |
Government sources said that while legal immigration is on the rise in Pakistan, illegal immigration is declining because of preventive measures taken by the government. State Minister for Interior Dr Shahzad Waseem said that various measures had been taken to prevent illegal immigration from Pakistan, including machine-readable passports, electronic installations at entry and exit points, updating of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) rules and the establishment of a special cell at the Interior Ministry. Sources at the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis could not give an exact figure of Pakistanis in foreign countries because of frequent illegal immigration and human trafficking, which cannot be accurately estimated.
| But they're taking various measures, rest assured. |
| Sure glad they cleared that up. |
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