Over 12,000 Afghan Nationals Detained with Forged Pakistani Passports in Saudi Arabia: Interior Committee

Synopsis

In a significant revelation, Pakistan's Standing Committee on Interior disclosed that more than 12,000 Afghan nationals were caught using fake Pakistani passports to travel to Saudi Arabia over the past five years, raising concerns about the ongoing issue of passport fraud affecting many Afghans.

Key Takeaways

Over 12,000 Afghan nationals apprehended.
Use of fake Pakistani passports for international travel.
Significant involvement of NADRA officials in passport issuance.
Ongoing repatriation of Afghan nationals from Pakistan.
Concerns over visa rejections by Gulf countries.

Islamabad, April 25 (NationPress) The Standing Committee on Interior of Pakistan has revealed that more than 12,000 Afghan nationals were apprehended with fraudulent Pakistani passports while attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia over the last five years. This alarming situation raises significant concerns regarding the potential existence of tens of thousands of additional cases where Afghan nationals have obtained counterfeit Pakistani passports to journey to various countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This disclosure occurred during a session of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, which was updated about the current repatriation operations and the ongoing efforts to apprehend illegal Afghan nationals, alongside discussions about the law and order conditions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.

According to Mustafa Jamal Qazi, Director General of Passports, "At least 12,000 individuals have arrived in Saudi Arabia using fake Pakistani passports. Among them, 3,000 possessed passports with altered photographs, while 6,000 passports were issued by manipulating data from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)."

“Most individuals who traveled with these forged documents have been deported back to Afghanistan. Currently, none of them remain in Pakistan,” he added.

Qazi further disclosed that stringent measures have been taken against officials from NADRA and the Passport Department, resulting in the suspension of at least 35 Assistant Directors.

The phenomenon of Afghan nationals creating fraudulent identities and passports for international travel has posed a serious challenge for years. Reliable sources indicate that this issue has contributed to why countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been denying visas to individuals from various cities in Pakistan. It is estimated that thousands of Afghan nationals have been intercepted with fake passports bearing addresses from diverse urban and rural locations in Pakistan.

“It is evident that there are still thousands of Afghans in the UAE with fake Pakistani identities and passports. The UAE authorities have intensified their operations against them and have already detained and deported many,” stated a Pakistani official based in Dubai.

Pakistan is actively working on the deportation and repatriation of thousands of undocumented Afghan nationals and holders of the Afghan Citizen Card (ACC). As per the latest updates, over 80,000 Afghan nationals have returned to Afghanistan since April 1, 2025.

In the most recent and third phase of repatriation, Pakistani officials have encouraged registered Afghan nationals, including those with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, to voluntarily return to Afghanistan, indicating that formal deportation initiatives will commence after the April 30 deadline.