Saudi Arabia Expels 40,000 Pakistani Workers amid Economic Pressures

Since October 2016, Riyadh has issued deportation orders for nearly 40,000 people who have been working in the country for years. Based on local media reports the Interior ministry has confirmed the deportation of more than 39,000 people.
 
The news comes as Saudi Arabia has been hit by a year of strikes and protests over unpaid wages as the plunge in global oil prices and the kingdom’s multi-billion-dollar military campaign in Yemen has struck a direct blow to the country’s economy.
 
Millions of poor Asians are working in the Persian Gulf states. Human rights groups say many of the workers suffer exploitation and abuses, including non-payment of wages.
 
A court in Mecca in January sentenced dozens of foreign construction workers to lashes and jail for a protest held several months ago over unpaid wages.
 
Foreigners account for nearly 30 percent of Saudi Arabia’s 27-million-strong population, according to 2010 census figures.
 
Official statistics in Saudi Arabia indicate that 243,000 Pakistanis had been expelled in 2012-2015.
 
According to a 2014 report by the European University Institute, there are around 900,000 Pakistani nationals are currently working in the kingdom’s low-paid jobs, particularly the construction industry.
 
Human Rights Watch and other rights organizations had slammed mass deportations of migrant workers, which are fairly common in the kingdom, saying they often involve physical abuse and detention in poor conditions.